Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

On the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast for Wednesday the 11th of December. Racing Minister Winston Peters has announced greyhound racing will be banned from 2026. The SPCA says it's the best Christmas present they could have been given. The government has released it's new Emissions Reduction Plan, could we reach net zero six years than the target? Dr Adrian Macey joins the show. Get the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens  Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Animal rights advocates say the government's announcement on greyhound racing is "the best christmas present ever."  Racing Minister Winston Peters announced the ban, with the legislation passed under urgency yesterday.  The racing dogs will not be allowed to be euthanised and will have to be rehomed.  The SPCA's Chief Scientific Officer welcomed the move. "We're absolutely thrilled that [Winston Peters] made this very challenging but right decision". LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The job of being a politician is always harder than you expect. We learned today that Mark Mitchell will not be introducing legislation against boy racers this year even though he has said he would. In June when it as all going off in Levin he was promising laws to enable the cops to seize vehicles and keep them. A return to the good old days of Crusher Collins But it's never happened because it is quote "complex". If he's got some time on his hand could I suggest he look at hitting the problem of South Auckland's dirt bike hooligans. South Auckland’s dirt bike rabble is classic gang technique and needs to be stopped. The gangs have been giving out dirt bikes to the kids for quite some time now. Cheap, mobile and nippy they’re very handy for hit and run crime. They get young prospects into the bike culture which then carries on into the the adult gangs with their Harleys and Indians.  They distract the police while the more hardened gang criminals carry on with their business.  But these kid gangs a

The PPTA says letting each school set its own sex education standards has been a failed model.   Education Review Office research has found inconsistencies in how the subject is taught between schools.   PPTA President Chris Abercrombie says it will be hard to impress everyone as there are a variety of views.   He told Andrew Dickens a standardised national curriculum would be a good starting point.    Abercrombie says leaving it up to schools isn't really working for anyone at the moment, with three-quarters of school leavers saying they didn't learn enough.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Building and Construction Minister's confident changes to insulation rules will give builders and designers more flexibility.  Chris Penk's proposed changes to reduce building costs, including examining the whole building instead of individual components.  Penk told Andrew Dickens he believes there's currently too many regulations.  He says when you add up the extra costs, it does become significant.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast for Tuesday the 10th December. The government is looking to inject Kiwibank with $500 million in capital to "disrupt the status quo" and take on the big Australian owned banks. Massey University Banking Expert Claire Matthews joins the show. The Education Review Office says our relationship and sex ed in schools is not up to standard and is having an impact on our children. PPTA President Chris Abercrombie speaks to Andrew. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has made big changes to his proposed rollback of new insulation standards - is industry criticism behind the changes? Get the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government is looking to inject Kiwibank with $500 million in capital to "disrupt the status quo" and take on the big Australian owned banks.  Kiwibank's parent company Kiwi Group Capital along with Treasury have been instructed to talk to potential investors, which could include Kiwisaver funds.  For now an initial public offering is off the table with the government has ruling out selling off it's shares in the bank. Massey University Banking Expert Claire Matthews isn't sure it will help the current situation. "The government is pushing this very much as its going to make a huge difference to competition and I'm struggling to see that it really will make that much of a difference" LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This weekend Sunday Star-Times published a think piece on why Christopher Luxon is not popular.  And he’s not. Monday's polls showed that Christopher Luxon and his National Party is not as popular as maybe they should be.  Interviewing university professors and their typewriters, the article came up with answers like no-one likes anyone who demands to be called Christopher and one professor even speculated on New Zealand’s attitude toward baldness. Apparently we don’t like them, which will be news to Monty Betham.  It came in response to the latest poll which showed Chris Hipkins and Labour keeping up with Christopher Luxon and National, despite Labour changing nothing. While the Sunday Star-Times plucked at straws, I’d like to say it’s the economy, stupid.  These are tough times and we always blame the sitting Government, no matter what they inherited. But I would like to say that Mr Luxon has not made it easy for himself. When he inherited our damaged economy the Reserve Bank was already

Rebel forces in Syria say they have ended Bashar Al-Assad's rule as the government's troops withdraw from Damascus. The Assad family has a decades-long reign in Syria. Otago University Professor for Middle Eastern and Comparative Politics Leon Goldsmith joins Early Edition. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police in the Netherlands fear an explosion at a block of flats which has left 5 dead and 4 injured in the Hague, may have been started deliberately. UK authorities urged people to stay at home over the weekend after a vicious stormswept the country. 150 km/h were recorded on Saturday and again early Sunday morning. UK and Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey joins Early Edition. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Devin Conway has gone from developing into one of the best players in the world, to looking completely shot of confidence, Elliott Smith says.  Liam Lawson's contract has come to an end, has he done enough to secure his place?  Elliott Smith joins Early Edition to discuss.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Green Party says the National government is not on track to achieving current emissions targets.  Green Party MP Steve Abel joins Early Edition to talk about the party's emissions reduction plan.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast for Monday 9th December 2024. Big developments in Syria have seen rebel forces take over the capital. Otago University Middle East Expert Dr Leon Goldsmith joins the show. The Greens have released their emissions reduction plan - will it ever be put in place? Party MP Steve Abel has the details. Not a great day for Liam Lawson on the race track as a decision on his furure looms and Tom Blundell hits a ton despite the Black Caps loosing - Elliott Smith has your weekend sport wrap. Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cabinet today, and the promise this week is that we're going to get a ferry plan.  Apparently there might be an announcement on Wednesday.  It's been a year since Nicola Willis pulled the plug on the Kiwirail's ferry plan and it wasn't because the ferries were so expensive, in fact, these ferries were a really good deal. It was because of the cost of the port side developments.  And I think this is something that gets lost in the whole debate when we talk about it.  The ships weren't the problem. The misconception is that the cost was blowing out because the ferries were bigger than our previous fleet.  So the biggest factor in the cost blowout was the relocation and the rebuilding of both the Kiwirail and Bluebridge ferries to get them out of an earthquake zone.  There was also the need for the new port to have considerable earthquake strengthening.  Look where the Wellington port is and how far away it is from the main fault line. You need to earthquake strengthen this. Ou

Former Black Caps coach Mike Hesson is confident with New Zealand's decision to go with a four-prong pace attack in this morning's second cricket test against England in Wellington.  The hosts have left frontline spinner Mitchell Santner out of the starting eleven after assessing the Basin Reserve pitch.  ZB Cricket Correspondent Andrew Alderson joined Ryan Bridge to preview the first day of the test.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A better end to the year than expected for the dairy sector.  Fonterra has raised its forecast Farmgate Milk Price's midpoint for the second time in less than a month.  It's up 50 cents to $10 dollars, citing strong demand from China and south-east Asia.  Forsyth Barr Senior Analyst Matt Montgomerie told Ryan Bridge that demand from China has been sluggish for some time, so it’s pleasing to see they’re returning in some way.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

French President Emmanuel Macron is due to address his nation this morning following yesterday's ousting of Prime Minister Michel Barnier.  Correspondent Vincent McAviney told Ryan Bridge that Macron's future is increasingly uncertain.  He says Macron doesn't have a Prime Minister or a government and can't hold fresh elections until the middle of next year.  Barnier is staying on as acting PM, including for this weekend's reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a warning from the Police Association that the wait for more cops will hurt the force.  The Government wants 500 more cops by the end of next year.  But new commissioner Richard Chambers says to ensure proper training, June 2026 is more likely.  Association President Chris Cahill told Ryan Bridge the delayed timeline will have an effect.  He says they are already moving staff across different roles, leaving some jobs undone.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Friday 6 December. 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.

So it looks like looks like police will miss the deadline of adding 500 extra sworn officers by 2026. What we were promised should take two years. Now the new Police Commissioner, when fronting scrutiny week in parliament, he said it will take 2.5 years.  So an extra six months - will anyone really care? Probably not. Should we care?  When there are more bad guys out there doing bad things, we should always care about how many good guys and girls we have out there countering that.  But on this particular point of missing a target by 180 odd days, not really. Why? One - the target was always described as highly ambitious and that should be a clue from a politician.  Two - they may still make the deadline. That has not been discounted at this point and they are working hard to do that.  Three - it was only a target because it was included in the coalition agreement with New Zealand First.  And clearly, if you follow the public comments of Mark Mitchell through the past year, even N