Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

0.0 (0)
NEWS
UPDATED DAILY

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

4D AGO

Best of 2025: Ryan Bridge - We shouldn't have to work for the government

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 b******t, 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 do is piss people off and reveal how rubbish your road designs are to begin with. Just think about this: There's a bunch of road cones in a dumb place on a busy road. WorkSafe and NZTA and Council people drive past this busy spot every day. Barbara in her little Honda Civic, she drives past. She calls it in. Barry in his truck and trailer. He calls it in. Sally picks the kids up at 3pm from school every day. They all ring the tipline. They all report the same thing. It will then be somebody's job to sort through the tips. Somebody else will triage the tips. That's two jobs. In three weeks, Barry, Sally, and Barb get a letter. Because the post only runs two days a week. The letter says we're looking into the issue for you. Meanwhile, 100 government or council people have walked or driven past the road cone Armageddon and nothing's changed. Tiplines are plasters over grenades. The only time I want to ring a tipline is speak to the actual dump. In its first 156 days in office, the National-led government has set up 37 reviews, inquiries or advisory panels – some of which are being led by former ministers, including Bill English, Steven Joyce, Murray McCully and Roger Sowry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3 min
12/24/2025

Best of 2025: Ryan Bridge - The Gen Z stare

I went out for lunch to a café the other day and our table was served by a couple of waiters who all seemed to have a similar vibe about them. They just. Did. Not. Seem. To. Care. No smiling. No banter. No small talk or polite conversation. Just this blank look on their faces. You sit there and think “did they hear me”? You ever so politely repeat yourself in case they didn’t. But they did. They got it. There’s just no engagement. Face colder than a witch's tit. No refills of your water. No "would you like another coffee?" Like, hello!? Is anybody in there? Is anyone home? Why are you all moving so slowly? Shouldn’t you be rushing the joint taking orders and filling coffees? When I was young it was drilled into us: when you’re waiting tables and taking orders. You work your way up from "dish pig" to front of house. You basically run round busy as a bee, trying to impress your boss, trying to win your guests over. Taking wagers of who might get a tip. "Can I help you, sir? What more can I get you?" You’d help the elderly into their seats. You’d bend over backwards to make everyone happy. And these guys are on at least $23 an hour. And I know what you’re thinking, maybe I’m the a-hole. Maybe I’ve forgotten mum’s many sermons on good manners and etiquette. So I asked the people who I was out to lunch with - they all thought the same thing. I asked friends who are teachers, I asked parents with kids around that age. Guess what? They’ve all noticed the same thing happening. Hell, there’s even a TikTok trend called ‘the Gen Z stare', which describes what I saw at the café - the vacant look a Gen Zer gives in response to a question or statement. If it’s in TikTok then it must be a thing, right? So the question is why? Was it Covid? Was it everyone wearing masks? So much of how we communicate is through facial expressions, maybe they’ve missed out on years of social queues and norms? Is the smartphones? Is it both? Or, maybe, just maybe, they just don’t give a shit? Maybe we have on our hands a generation of young people who don’t really think they NEED to be bothering with mundane things like work. Disclaimer: this is is obviously not an entire generation of young people. And some people are just shy. I get that. We've all had excellent experiences. But, y'know. Is this a thing you too have noticed? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3 min
12/18/2025

Chris Abercrombie: PPTA President on the growing rate of violence in schools

Teachers say they're struggling to deal with increasing violent incidents due to a lack of learning support. New data shows 12,300 students have been disciplined for physical assault on teachers and students this year – a 49% jump from 2019. PPTA President Chris Abercrombie told Francesca Rudkin teachers have been given increasingly more restraint training to deal with these incidents, but the main problem is with students' unmet needs. He says our children are coming to school with complex needs, a lot involving mental health issues. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

4 min
12/18/2025

Vincent McAviney: UK Correspondent on the investment into training teachers to spot misogyny and radicalism early

The UK is looking to tackle radicalisation and extreme misogyny early. Millions of pounds will be invested into schools to train teachers to spot signs of misogyny among boys and course correct. Funding will also go towards courses for radicalised young men. It's to counter concerns about pornography and online misogynistic influencers. UK correspondent Vincent McAviney told Francesca Rudkin it's a key part of the government's legislative agenda. He says two women die a week from domestic violence. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3 min
12/18/2025

Liz Gordon: Education researcher on the cancellation of Gloriavale school's licence

It's thought the closure of Gloriavale school is more complicated than just finding a new school. The Secretary for Education has cancelled the Christian sect school’s licence, forcing it closed from January. It's been on notice for several weeks after failing another audit and being ruled physically and mentally unsafe for students. Education researcher Liz Gordon told Francesca Rudkin says it's not as straightforward as moving the students elsewhere. She wants the ministry to take a group of professional teachers into the community, to allow the kids to be taught there. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

4 min
12/18/2025

Full Show Podcast: 19 December 2025

On the Early Edition with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast Friday the 19th of December 2025, The economy’s rebounded into 1.1% growth in the September quarter, ahead of forecasts Independent Economist Cameron Bagrie shares his thoughts. Schools are dealing with more fights and assaults than ever before, PPTA President Chris Abercrombie tells Francesca why the problem has got worse. Gloriavale's school will shut down from January next year, educational researcher and community activist Liz Gordon tells Francesca what will happen from here. Plus, UK/Europe Correspondent Vincent McAviney has the latest on Zelensky urging European Union leaders to loan billions of euros in frozen Russian money to fund Ukraine and Teachers in England will be given training to spot and tackle misogyny in the classroom. 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.

35 min
12/18/2025

Cameron Bagrie: Independent Economist on GDP growth

An economist says the economy has some forward motion. Stats NZ data shows a 1.1% GDP increase in the September quarter. Independent Economist Cameron Bagrie says he expects to see 2 to 3 percent growth over the next 12 months is likely. He told Francesca Rudkin there are other statistics trending in a positive direction. Bagrie says that includes more hours worked and greater bank lending into the business sector. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

4 min
12/18/2025

Francesca Rudkin: GDP growth is welcome before Christmas

“Confirmation that the economy grew strongly in the third quarter of the year is welcome news before Christmas”, Finance Minister Nicola Willis stated in the first line of her press release yesterday. ‘Welcome news’ may be a bit of an understatement, given the context of recent attempts to undermine Nicola Willis and the Government’s approach to righting the economy. Willis also needed the good GDP news after a disappointing Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update on Tuesday, in which almost every economic and fiscal indicator moved ever so slightly in the wrong direction. The GDP results showed the economy did better than expected in the September quarter, growing 1.1%. GDP per capita rose 0.9% for the quarter, if that's how you prefer to measure it. The increase in economic activity was broad based, with increases in 14 of the 16 industries that Stats NZ looks at. This is good news. But the problem with GDP figures is they’re provisional and often revised. That’s what has happened with the previous June quarter – which did worse than previously thought, falling one percent. If you look at it from an annual point of view, from September to September, the economy contracted 0.5%. These numbers provide an overview of what’s going on. They are a sign of a gentle uptick rather than a booming recovery. But they don’t give politicians a true sense of what is going on in New Zealanders day to day lives. As Liam Dann wrote recently, GDP doesn’t capture wealth distribution, it doesn’t tell us about the health of our nation, or the overall happiness of its people. As the end of the year approaches, Luxon and Willis survive ‘25 to enjoy a summer BBQ and a bevy or two and get to return to their leadership roles in 2026. But hopefully they and their politician colleagues will spend some time over the summer listening to ordinary Kiwis to get a sense of how New Zealanders are feeling about the cost of living, job security, and the challenges facing those running a business. Yesterday’s GDP figures give Willis breathing room. But the pressure is on next year. Willis is excellent at sticking to her core messaging of fiscal discipline without causing misery to voters. It’s a plan that holds some risk – there’s little room to deal with the consequences of potential natural disasters or global financial crisis in the near future. The ‘steady as you go’ message will remain next year, and yet there’s a sense the hard yards haven’t started yet. If we’re going to meet the 2029 – 2030 surplus target, the ruler is likely going to have to come out again. Social services and public servants will most likely be the targets. In the meantime, we can head into the New Year with some cautious optimism that the economy may have peaked a look around the corner. I like the expression one of my listeners suggested to me on Sunday – ‘brick by brick in 26’. Maybe then we might have built something a more stable by 2027. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3 min

See All (2.1K)

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.