Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Listen to the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Friday 31 October. Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Signs are looking good for Fonterra's major sell-off to get the green light this morning.  By 10:45 today, the shareholders will decide if selling big brands like Anchor and Mainland to global dairy giant Lactalis is the right decision.  Fonterra Shareholder and Supplier Garry Reymer told Ryan Bridge that the majority of shareholders seem to be in favour of the sale. 'I hear a few farmers who tell me they're gonna vote against it, but by and large the majority seem to accept,' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Opinion remains split on whether we have to renew our vehicles' Warrants of Fitness,  too often.  Proposals up for consultation from today would further stretch out WOFs for light vehicles, to once every two years.  The one-year rule would continue for vehicles older than 10 years.  AA Principal Policy Adviser Terry Collins told Ryan Bridge that they've surveyed their members to get their thoughts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You know how we're a free trade country? It’s our thing. We export, we earn, we sell, we get richer. And we want open supply chains and free movement of goods across borders, etc., etc. Well, today Trump and Xi of China are finally signing that deal—or at least the framework of a deal—to bring an end to this war. This should, in theory, benefit both of them. The region. And us. That's a good thing. We're also likely to sell our dairy consumer brands to the French today, in a deal worth $4 billion. That's a good thing. Yesterday, Westpac released some research—they reckon our GDP wasn’t actually that bad in June.They revised down their estimate from a 0.9% contraction to just 0.1%. They say it all came down to an accounting glitch related to the closure of the Marsden Point oil refinery. In all of these stories, two ideologies are playing out. Are we a free trade, open-the-door, globalist sort of country? Or are we the Winston Peters, protectionist, don’t-sell-your-milk-brands, keep-Marsden-Point-ope

Belief that both employers and the Government need to up their game to ensure Kiwis are being hired before migrants.  The Immigration Minster's getting tougher on employers hiring more migrants than unemployed New Zealanders. Erica Stanford says employers will be stripped of the chance to recruit migrants if they're not looking closer to home. Business NZ Immigration Specialist Rachel Simpson told Ryan Bridge the Ministry need to help businesses prioritise Kiwis.  She says employers will always look locally but immigration is about the skills those people bring to the country.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Thursday 30 October. Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More MPs and longer parliamentary terms have been deemed key to modernising a decades old electoral system.  Fresh New Zealand Initiative research found 30 years on from the introduction of MMP, our parliament is in the need of a four year term and 50 more members.  That would take the Parliament to 170. Report author and Senior Fellow Nick Clark says MMP has delivered fairer and more representative parliaments.  But he says these changes would create better balance between members and the executive.  Clark says right now there is a huge number of ministers compared to members, making it harder for MPs to hold those ministers to account. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's early days for new curriculum changes, as not all subject documents have been uploaded. The Education Minister has unveiled proposed changes to content for Years 1-10,  on top of the English and Maths refresh announced earlier -  changing subjects like health and history.  The Immediate Past President of the Auckland Primary Principals Association Kyle Brewerton told Ryan Bridge that only some documents are fully visible at the moment.  He says his immediate reaction is there's a lot of content change and it's now the schools responsibility to feedback. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former Labour leader says there'll be a sense a relief among many to see a new capital gains tax policy. Labour's announced the policy for next year's election campaign, targeting commercial and investment properties, but not family homes.  The revenue would go into health, creating a Medicard scheme providing free GP visits. Phil Goff told Ryan Bridge the OECD has been calling out New Zealand for being the only country in the western world not to have the tax. He says Labour's putting it in place for the sake of fairness and making sure investment decisions aren't distorted by being the odd one out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Wednesday 29th of October 2025, The Government’s finally unveiled its new school curriculum for years 1 to 10, Immediate past President of the Auckland Primary Principals Association, Kyle Brewerton shares his thoughts.  A new report for the NZ Initiative believes our MMP system needs 50 more MPs, report author and senior fellow at the NZ Initiative, tells Ryan why.  Former Labour Party leader Phil Goff shares his thoughts on who leaked the capital gains tax.  Plus UK/Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey has the latest on asylum seekers could be housed in military sites and UK ministers to look at complaints modern cars have headlights which are too bright. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.           LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you catch the comments yesterday from Malaysia Deputy PM. He was talking to a kiwi delegation off in KL for ASEAN. "This will be your new market and we welcome any halal product from New Zealand." I have always been pretty sceptical about these trade missions, whether they actually achieve something or are just a giant junket. The truth is their a bit of both.  On a trip to Vladivostok in Russia back in 2011, our PM got a sit down with Vladimir Putin.  The guy was late. We waited in the rain for hours. And then he came in in, sat down, spoke in Russian, then had his body guards usher us out of the room.  He and John Key spoke for about an hour.  At the time, NZ was trying to cut a free trade deal with Russia - including Belarus and Kazakhstan. You just don't get that sport of access everyday. Of course, you wouldn't be doing that deal today. We suspended talks in 2014 with Ukraine. So I grew to accept these meetings actually do achieve something. Besides, the hotels and accommodation t

The Government's making moves on aged care reform - hoping to better meet New Zealanders' needs. It's establishing a Ministerial Advisory Group to recommend changes to the aged care funding model - expected by mid-next year.  The group will also look at the changes needed to support integration between aged care and health and disability services. Associate Health Minister Casey Costello told Ryan Bridge most people want to stay at home for as long as possible, so they want to develop a system that supports this. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister's met with various South East Asian leaders but missed out speaking with US President Donald Trump, as he attends talks in Malaysia. Chris Luxon's attending the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur for bilateral talks with regional leaders.  Donald Trump was at the talks briefly, before leaving for Japan to meet their new leader. Senior Political Reporter Azaria Howell told Ryan Bridge the pair will have a chance to cross paths again, with APEC in South Korea later this week. She says Luxon told a news conference it's unlikely there'll be any reprieve from tariffs. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's unclear how much the Labour government will raise, from its just announced new capital gains tax. The targeted tax would apply to profit made from selling commercial or residential property, to raise funds for universal free doctors visitors. The family home, farms, KiwiSaver, shares, business assets, inheritances, and personal items will be exempt. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Ryan Bridge the announcement doesn't specify how much the tax is likely to raise. He says it's hard to assess based on the information whether the tax would raise millions, hundreds of millions, or billions of dollars of revenue over any time period. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Tuesday 28th of October 2025, Labour's announced a capital gains tax, Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen shares his thoughts.  The Government’s finally making moves on aged care reform, Associate Minister of Health Casey Costello tells Ryan what changes they plan to make.  Newstalk ZB Political reporter Azaria Howell has the latest on Luxon in Asia.  Andrew Alderson has the latest on the weekend's sport.  Plus, Australia Correspondent Donna Demaio has the latest on a crocodile attack in Queensland.  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.

It was only a matter of time before Dame Noels was allowed back where she belongs. You could almost hear the cheers from fans not just of netball but of sport in general. The problem with this whole saga is that for the most part, we the public have been left guessing what was really going on behind the scenes. The reason people became so invested, and it eventually became political, was the narrative around the story. Speak to your average punter and they’d made up their minds. Dame Noels is a bloody legend. She’s a straight shooter. She calls a spade a spade. She’s hard and hearty and gets results. It’s not tiddlywinks. It’s professional sport. And that’s why this story took off like a rocket.  High performance sport is about exactly that. If you can’t take heat, get out of the kitchen. The public backed Dame Noels because this looked like a small group of players, notably excluding star Grace Nweke, who didn’t like the coaching style. They got sour grapes. They thought they were bigger than the boss.&

The Deputy Prime Minister isn't buying the argument strikers have won the war on public sentiment. Thousands downed tools across the education, health and public sector yesterday and took to the streets calling for better pay and working conditions.  David Seymour - who's also the Associate Health Minister - told Ryan Bridge that it's important to talk about facts, rather than sentiment.  He says the pay requests being made aren't sustainable with the Government's current finances.  Seymour says teachers and nurses have had recent pay increases - more than many tax payers.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's economy could look to benefit from Fonterra’s proposed sale. The proposed sale of Anchor and Mainland brands to French company Lactalis could unlock around 4.5 billion in additional spending. Forsyth Barr Senior Analyst Matt Montgomerie shares his thoughts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Friday 24th of October 2025, the mega strikes have been and gone, Deputy Prime Minister and Associate Health and Education Minister David Seymour tells Ryan what happens next.  Nick Bewley has this scoop on this weekend's all-southern NPC final.  A new ASB report out this morning says Fonterra’s plan to sell its retail brands could unlock $4.5 billion in extra spending across the economy, Forsyth Barr Senior analyst, Matt Montgomerie shares his thoughts. Plus, UK Correspondent Vincent McAviney has the latest on Zelensky in Brussels and King Charles becoming the first head of the Church of England to pray publicly with the Pope. 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.

So 100,000 workers went on strike. Now what? The cost to settle these claims will run into the billions. Easily.  1979 was the last time we a strike this big. A general strike. 300-thousand people. It was Muldoon days. It was over a dispute with driver unions and transport. It went to arbitration and the unions won. This time, senior doctors refused binding arbitration.  Secondary teachers have a few more strikes before Christmas. And the primary teachers have more dates set down for pay talks next month.  You’d have to say, based purely on vibes and a little bit on polling, that the workers win the week. They 've won the PR battle. We're already sick of hearing how much senior doctors get paid. Parents will be sick of their kids missing school. Anymore delayed hip operations and there’ll be hell to pay. If the unions expect strikes to kick off again next year, they might find themselves falling out of favour with workers in the private sector. The median wage is $70k. Private sector workers ha