Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

The Education Review Office is recommending NCEA Level 1 be reformed.   Its review found it's not a fair or reliable measure of knowledge and skills, and around a quarter of schools don't plan on offering it next year.   Last year, students were almost twice as likely to achieve an excellence on an internal assessment than an external.   Auckland's Rangitoto College Principal Patrick Gale told Ryan Bridge that within the existing framework, teachers can target standards they perceive to be easier.   He says with internal assessment they can also offer more time, meaning they may not enter students into all externals, causing further issues as they're not learning the whole curriculum.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Don't get me wrong, a new police station in central Auckland is good news, as were recent stats showing crime in the city is way down, but where are all the wackos and the nut jobs going to go next?  That's my question.  You know the ones I'm talking about – they strut around holding their pants up with one hand, a menacing look in their eye, shouting and ranting and raving and lunging at people.  They're pissing in the middle of the street during the day or fighting each other.  Once the city is secured, where do these people go next?  Parnell, Ponsonby, on a bus to Westfield New Market?  If the idea is to make a city feel safer for people, then more cops will help do that.  What they won't do is make these intimidating people disappear altogether like some Houdini act.  One of the biggest problems we have is a lack of community drug and alcohol rehab centers in this country, affordable or free ones.  And our corrections system doesn't correct people – last year i

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 26th of November, The Education Review Office says NCEA Level 1 is not a fair or reliable measure, and more schools are opting out of Level 1. Rangitoto College Principal Patrick Gale explains the reasons why they’re offering an alternative certificate.  GPs are warning patients in need of hospital care they sometimes aren't making it onto the waitlist, while Labour has accused the government of gaming health system numbers by cutting the number of people who can go on surgical waitlists. Luke Bradford from the Royal NZ College of General Practitioners joins the show.  Auckland is set to get a new 24/7 CBD police station; how could it help reduce inner city crime rates? Heart of the City's Viv Beck joins to discuss, and Ryan has some thoughts on what the new police station won't solve.  Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE&nb

Deadly Storm Bert is continuing to lash parts of the UK. Snow's fallen across Scotland and parts of northern and central England -- and heavy rain's hit southern England and Wales. UK correspondent Kay Oliver told Ryan Bridge three people have been killed. “We’ve got 70 flood warnings across south Wales.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Max Verstappen has hit the jackpot in Las Vegas with his fourth consecutive Formula 1 Driver’s Championship, but Liam Lawson left Sin City empty-handed after finishing 16th. The All Blacks beat Italy 29-11 in their final match of the year, but it was TJ Perenara’s haka that stole the headlines. And the Black Foils are off to a tremendous start in SailGP, winning the opening series in Dubai. Newstalk ZB Sport reader Andew Alderson joined Ryan Bridge. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Remember the excitement, the pride at being first, the proclamations of cleaning up our world and making it better for tomorrow. I'm talking about the single plastic use bag ban of 2018. Remember that? A few salient points to note this morning, six years on from when it was announced. There's a report out this morning on plastics. The use of plastic is expected to triple globally by 2060 most of it in Africa and Asia. Plastic waste will also triple by 2060 half of it will end up in the landfill less than 1/5 of it will be recycled. So well done. Our Pak'nSave efforts, we're really doing well for the world. Who's profiting from this? That's the other thing I wonder, I don't know how much supermarkets make every time I forget my reusable plastic bags and I have to buy the paper ones. But the price of the paper one the other day that I paid was 40 cents. And I can remember when they first started selling them, it was like 10 or 20 cents. So there's been a bit of inflation going on since then. And now they've got

Vaping rates are dropping across younger school students, but it's on the rise among senior students. The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation survey finds 12 percent of high school students reported vaping in the seven days before the survey was taken - compared to 26 percent in 2021. However, 26 percent of Year 13 students are weekly vapers - doubling over the last three years. Chief Executive Letitia Harding told Ryan Bridge the increase is probably down to regulation coming in pretty late for older students. “You’ve got this group that had very little regulations around taking up vaping and some are very, very high in nicotine doses as well, because back then, the nicotine contained in vapes had up to 53 milligrams of nicotine in them, so you’ve got this group that has probably become quite addicted to these nicotine vapes, and that’s carried on through.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gangs are taking advantage of relaxed regional airport security screenings. Stuff reports they're travelling between New Zealand's smaller centres to traffic drugs around the country, where there's little risk of having their bags scanned. Current security settings mean flights with fewer than 90 passengers are unlikely to go through security screening. Airports Association Chief Executive, Billie Moore told Ryan Bridge it's a regularly raised concern. “But it’s important for us to focus on the fact that the purpose of passenger and baggage screening is for aviation security, and so that means unlawful interference with aircraft.” She says the purpose of screenings are for aviation security -- to stop unlawful aircraft interference. “These issues are about other illegal activities, they’re a matter for the Police rather than aviation security.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Morning! Early Edition podcast blurb and editorial from the show this morning below. On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Monday the 25th of November. Gangs are using regional airports will leaner security screening to traffic drugs around the country, so do we need to change our security settings? NZ Airports Association Chief Executive Billie Moore joins the show. Youth vaping rates have dropped according to the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation - but what’s driving the reduction? Chief Executive Letitia Harding speaks to Ryan about the results. A big weekend for Kiwi sport - Liam Lawson races in Formula 1 in Las Vegas, the Black Foils win SailGP in Dubai and the All Blacks win against Italy. Andrew Alderson 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.

New Zealand is bracing for a high stakes poker game, preparing for Donald Trump’s tariffs to be introduced.  The US Business Summit is taking place in Auckland, and Trump is set to be a significant talking point.  NZ Inc Managing Director Fran O’Sullivan told Ryan Bridge that there’s likely to be an element of negotiation when it comes to the implementation of tariffs.  She says that Trump’s selection for Commerce Secretary has suggested that there won’t be blanket tariffs, but the idea is to get manufacturing back into the US.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Councils are putting a range of ideas on the table to raise revenue, as they push back against the idea of a cap on rates rises.  Rates shot up by an average of 15% this year.  Local Government New Zealand is proposing a range of options from civil defence levies to accommodation levies.  Hauraki District Mayor Toby Adams told Ryan Bridge some of the options, like congestion charging, won't work for their district.  He says that's why a vast range of solutions is important.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Almost 70% of cops want to be armed, and I say who the hell are we to get in their way?  The new Commissioner has come in, and he's been more gung ho on this idea of regular arming of our police force than any of his predecessors.  The fact is they're on the front line, aren't they?  Last year, there was a 9% increase in tactical operations interactions – that means basically the bad ones. That's up to more than 7000. The number of cops physically attacked doubled from 2022 to 2023.  It's dangerous.  We're not the ones going out on the streets, are we?  We're tucked up in bed with moral superiority saying, no, we don't like the idea of you guys being armed. I prefer you pull the gang member over, please. Take your chances.  It's a little bit sanctimonious from us, don't you think?  If they feel it would make their situation safer, then I trust them to make that call.  Of course, you'll always have mistakes, and chaos prior to the shooting clearly shouldn't have hap

Ukraine is claiming Russia's launched a missile with greater range into one of its cities.   It's claiming an intercontinental ballistic missile has been used, but CNN reports two western officials have said it was another type of ballistic missile.   Europe correspondent Vincent McAviney told Ryan Bridge the US is disputing the claim and Russia's saying nothing. He says it comes with escalation this week, with missiles being provided by the US given permission to fire into Russia.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Monday 22nd of November, the US Business Summit is on in Auckland today, and Donald Trump's second term as US president will be a big talking point with possible tariffs on the way. Fran O'Sullivan joins the show ahead of the summit.  How do we fund local government and reduce its reliance on ratepayers? Hauraki District Mayor Toby Adams speaks to Ryan about possible funding fixes.  And should police be armed? With a new Commissioner starting next week, Ryan argues for the move.  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.

JD Vance is facing a tricky task on Capitol Hill.  The vice president-elect has arrived at the Capitol to shore up support for Trump’s controversial cabinet picks.  He’ll spend the week organising meetings between Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth and key Republican senators involved in their confirmation process.  US Correspondent Mitch McCann told Ryan Bridge that Gaetz is with Vance today, and it’ll be a tall order to get him confirmed as people have already spoken out against him.   He says that it would be quite the defeat for Donald Trump if he was rejected.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Police hope an increased focus on gang activity will pay dividends.   The gang patch ban has been in force since midnight.   Police Assistant Commissioner Paul Basham says in the lead up to the ban, there was an increase in reports of gang members wearing their patches prominently in public.  He says they get reports on criminal behaviour all the time, so this increase was that combined with a heightened awareness from the public.  Basham told Ryan Bridge the legislation will create opportunities to catch other crimes.   He says targeting small groups with high offending rates has a disproportionate effect on crime.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's little doubt there's unnecessary spend at the Transport Agency.  The Transport Minister's called NZTA's costs eye-watering and excessive, after revealing a near $800 million spend over the past three years.  That went to road cones, traffic management, state highway maintenance, and capital works.  Temporary Traffic Management Chair Dave Tilton told Ryan Bridge he believes it's a systemic issue around how much temporary traffic management is deployed.  He says it's a prescriptive system, which doesn't give room for site-specific considerations.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Households and businesses are set to face higher electricity bills.  The Commerce Commission estimates the average household's monthly electricity bill will rise by around $10 from April.  The Commission's allowing Transpower and local lines companies to raise prices as they aim to upgrade and maintain the grid.  Major Electricity Users' Group Chair John Harbord told Ryan Bridge the impact will be more significant on industrial manufacturers.  He says those large businesses don't buy their electricity from retailers, so the percentage of their bill that comes from transmission is higher.  Harbord says many of those businesses are already struggling with costs.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone hates gangs. Unless you're in them, you hate them because they intimidate, they cause misery, they beat their wives, they do all sorts of awful things.  But I just worry that the gang patch ban in and of itself is not really going to solve the underlying causes, is it?  And what I worry about is the waste that could go into this.  The waste of time, police energy and resources. Every time Betty sees a gang patch, she rings in 111, which is fine because I know it's intimidating. However, that is going to tie up some police time which could be better spent solving an actual crime.  The other problem here is the design of the insignia, the gang patch.  So at the moment, the police know the designs of each of the gangs' patches.  What they're apparently doing is going down through and making subtle changes, adding words like mana whenua, or changing this logo or that logo.  So, sure, you will take the patch, you will collect it as evidence, you will take it to court, an

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Thursday 21st of November, gang patches are now banned in public. Are police ready to enforce the new law? Assistant Commissioner Paul Basham joins the show.  NZTA has spent Almost $800 million on temporary traffic management in the past 3 years, and that doesn't include local council spending. Dave Tilton from the Temporary Traffic Management Industry Steering Group speaks to Ryan.  Power prices are on the rise as the Commerce Commission allows Transpower and lines companies to increase how much they charge. John Harbord from the Major Electricity Users Group talks about what it means for the country's biggest power users.  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.