Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Cafes are continuing to see their profits squeezed. Sales in the hospitality sector have increased 1.4% in the past year according to just-released figures from the Restaurant Association. But sales for cafes and restaurants only rose 0.3%. Coffee Club Director Brad Jacobs told Ryan Bridge they're having to absorb rising costs to remain competitive. He says the minimum wage has gone up much faster than the price of coffee over the past decade. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Wednesday 15th of October 2025, The speaker's set out plans to crack down on standards after Oriini Kaipara's maiden speech, political commentator, Liam Hehir shares his thoughts.  The hospitality sector's hit record sales of $15.9 billion, Franchise NZ Chairperson and Coffee Club co-owner Brad Jacobs tells Ryan revenue doesn't always mean profit.  A report by the Education Review Office shows primary-aged kids are not only getting better at English and Maths, but they're more excited about doing it, Kaitao Intermediate School Principal Phil Palfrey tells Ryan how big of a change he's seen in his school.  Plus, UK/ Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey has the latest on an Afghan man who came to the UK on a small boat and threatened to kill Nigel Farage, being jailed for five years. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.           LISTEN ABOVE  See om

There’s a warning for Hipkins as he plots higher taxes for Kiwi businesses, investors, and savers - it comes from across the ditch. Albanese’s been having problems getting his super tax plan across the line, despite having a majority in Parliament. The Opposition to it has come not just from the usual suspects, but also former PM and Labor stalwart Paul Keating - even the Unions cried boohoo. So he’s had to U-turn on unrealised gains, which have always been a stupid thing to try and tax. How can you pay tax on money you haven’t earned?  The Greens want to do this. David Parker wanted to it. Te Pati Māori wants it. And Debbie said at the weekend that she and Chippy are on the same page when it comes to a wealth tax.  He denies this, but does anyone believe a guy who won’t tell you what he’s really thinking or what he really stands for?  Until he rules something in or out, he looks like a guy plotting in secret. He and Barbara are squirrelled away with an abacus and a calculator quietly conjuring

A peace summit is now underway in Egypt following the release of Israeli and Palestinian hostages.  The summit was attended by US President Donald Trump, who said that ‘the sun rises on a holy land that is finally at peace.’  Former Chief of Staff for Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign Matt Terrill told Ryan Bridge that there is still a lot of work to do before peace can finally be declared.  ‘You have a great opportunity here to forge lasting peace, but this is a peace deal. More work needs to be done.’  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A growing range of international visitor markets means New Zealand's on track to beat pre-Covid tourism numbers.  Overseas arrivals reached 92% of pre-pandemic numbers in August. That's up from 87% in July. Board of Airline Representatives Executive Director Cath O'Brien told Ryan Bridge increased airline capacity from the Americas, Singapore, Hong Kong markets means we're seeing more than just Aussies.  She hopes this is meaningful for tourism businesses who have waited a long time to see this recovery.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I've got some numbers for this morning. QV House Price Index for September quarter: guess what? Going backwards. Auckland leading the fall.  Homes are worth an average of 1.1% less. Auckland's 2.5% less.  And how does that make you feel, really?  Most homeowners won't care because they're not trying to sell. But for those who are, it's depressing.  Now first home buyers are cranking - a quarter of new mortgages went to first home buyers in the first half of the year.  So we've got to ask ourselves: is this really what we want?  When the numbers are bad for owners they're good for would-be-owners.  We're forever complaining about the price of property, until we need to sell.  So if this is the new normal, we'd better get used to it.  It's interesting to look at what's selling. We had another developer —apartments— go bust in Auckland yesterday.  Have a look at the apartments, even the nice ones, they were building - is that really somewhere you'd want to live?

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Tuesday 14th of October 2025, Donald Trump has arrived in Egypt for a peace summit, Matt Terrill, former Chief of staff for Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign, tells Ryan what Trump will need to do next to keep the peace deal successful.  Australia is helping push us towards out first pre-covid tourism summer, Cath O'Brien the Board of Airline Representatives Executive Director shares her thoughts.  Kids are reading better and the Government’s taking credit, Kaiapoi North School Principal Jason Miles, tells Ryan whether or not he's seen a difference in students learning.  Plus Australian Correspondent Donna Demaio has the latest on Qantas customers still fuming over data breach that led to dark web leak and record car thefts making Victoria the crime capital of Australia.  Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.           LISTEN ABOVESee om

Roughly 70% of Kiwis did not vote in the recent local elections.  It's shaping up to be the worst voter turnout in 36 years, with only 23% of Aucklanders voting in the local elections.  Senior fellow at the New Zealand Initiative Nick Clark told Ryan Bridge that making local elections in larger cities even more local would encourage more people to vote.  "It might be a bit of an out there solution to make councils more local rather than less local." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beef and Lamb's declaring methane target cuts, great news for New Zealand.  The Government's reducing targets to 14 to 24-percent below 2017 levels.  That's between 24 to 47-percent lower than previous targets.  Beef & Lamb Chair Kate Acland told Ryan Bridge the Government's right to say a number of farmers would have been put out of business without this change.  She says the new targets are in line with what the rest of the world is doing, with most countries also looking to incentivise not penalise. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealanders have voted against steep rates rises in the local elections. Auckland's Wayne Brown and Christchurch's Phil Mauger have both been re-elected over the weekend, with a commitment to keep rates rises lower. Wellington's Andrew Little and Hamilton's Tim Macindoe have indicated they'll rein in their cities' steep rates rises. In Dunedin - Sophie Barker has won the mayoralty over incumbent Jules Radich.  Newstalk ZB's Callum Proctor, Claire Sherwood, Max Towle and Michael Sergel joined Ryan Bridge to recap the results so far.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If the Coalition was looking for an endorsement of its rates cap idea, it got one over the weekend. Of the 18 councils that hit ratepayers with double-digit hikes this year, 13 elected new mayors. Newsroom had great coverage of the results. Tim Macindoe won in Hamilton. If the name sounds familiar — he’s a former National MP. Rates there rose 41% in three years. Go figure. Voters aren’t stupid and should never be taken for granted. Rates hikes are driving domestic inflation. Not only are you paying more to your council — they’re helping to keep interest rates higher. It’s a double burn in the back pocket. Our most important city councils — Auckland, Christchurch, and Hamilton — are now led by right-of-centre mayors. The results speak for themselves. But the problem, of course, is the sample size. Seventy percent of us didn’t bother voting. Ask ten pundits why, and you’ll get ten different answers. I think the problem is simple: the size and scope of local government is out of control. In a small Pacific islan

Listen to the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Monday 13 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.

Property investors are celebrating new methamphetamine contamination laws coming in next year.   Properties with meth residue exceeding 15 micrograms per 100-square centimetres will be considered contaminated, requiring treatment.  Landlords and tenants will be able to quickly end tenancies with excessive levels.  Property Investors Federation Advocacy Manager Matt Ball told Ryan Bridge the new standards will reduce costs for some landlords.  He says the threshold for decontamination, which can cost a considerable amount, were conflicting under the previous guidelines, resulting in some spending money that they shouldn’t have needed to.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The road to peace in Gaza is not without its obstacles, despite a major breakthrough.   Israel's security cabinet's meeting to vote on implementing the first phase of a ceasefire proposal.   The deal would allow the release of hostages early next week and would see Israeli troops pull back to agreed lines.   The Guardian Washington Bureau Chief David Smith told Ryan Bridge it will get more complicated from this point onwards, with components like the de-militarisation of Hamas to discuss.   He says even going further forward, in phases two to four, one has to look to the future governance of Gaza.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ACC Minister's confident the insurer's growing deficit is on track to be brought under control.  The scheme's recorded a net deficit of $1.5 billion, blowing the total out to $13.8 billion. Minister Scott Simpson told Ryan Bridge the net deficit is still a lot better than last year's $7.2 billion shortfall.  He says good work has already started, but there's still a lot to do.  Simpson says this involves doing the basic stuff consistently well. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Friday 10th of October 2025, Donald Trump says the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal has been signed, Washington Bureau Chief for the Guardian David Smith has the latest out of the US.  ACC has reporter yet another deficit, Minister responsible for ACC Scott Simpson shares his thoughts.  New rules are out on when a rental’s too contaminated with Meth, Property Investors Federation Advocacy Manager Matt Ball tells Ryan how big of a difference this will make.  Plus, UK/ Europe Correspondent Vincent McAviney has the latest on Israel's stance on the Gaza ceasefire deal.  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.

In a few hours we'll know who's won the Nobel Peace Prize.  It's the world's most prestigious award, and Trump wants it really, really badly.  Every year since 1901, a bunch of Norwegians sit around a table and sort through their candidates.  This year there's almost 330 entries. Four US Presidents have previously won it: Obama, Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson - Jimmy Carter got his two decades after he left office.  But one man wants it more than anyone else, and Benjamin Netanyahu's just tweeted that Trump should win it. The criteria? The prize goes to whoever has done the most for fraternity between nations, whoever gets rid of or reduces the size of armies, and whoever promotes peace.  Basically, who's really good at peace.  Here's the thing, Trump's not going to win this.  They met and decided on Monday. That was before this Gaza deal was announced.  It actually isn't even for this year. It relates to 2024 or prior. Trump wasn't even in office at that point and applicat

The discourse surrounding the R360 League is growing increasingly heated. The rugby unions of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, England, Ireland, Scotland, France and Italy issued a joint statement on Wednesday (NZT) refusing to endorse the proposed Saudi-funded competition. Sport commentator Sam Ackerman says the unions are overreacting- "that's like saying back in the day, if you had converted to, to rugby league, then you could never go back to rugby union or vice versa." He told Ryan Bridge that the players shouldn't be blamed for taking a good opportunity. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank's cut the OCR 50-basis-points to 2.5%, despite acknowledging inflation is above or almost above where they'd like it.  Finance Minister Nicola Willis says they've factored in broader economic conditions.  She says the central bank clearly thinks any fluctuation in inflation will be constrained by spare capacity in the economy.  Labour's Finance Spokesperson Barbara Edmonds told Ryan Bridge it’s a direct response to the economic damage caused by Christopher Luxon.  She says the economy has gone backwards under the Coalition Government, with 36,000 jobs lost, 2,700 businesses liquidated, and more Kiwis moving overseas.  “Christopher Luxon promised to make it better, but he’s made it worse.”  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Locals are raising eyebrows at the camping areas selected within a proposed freedom camping bylaw that goes before council this week.   The Queenstown Lakes District Council bylaw proposes 15 designated freedom camping sites for the district following a surge in freedom campers.  Save Clean New Zealand spokesperson Andrea Beryl says she's not against freedom camping, as the area relies on tourism.  But she told Ryan Bridge the places given the green light for camping are bizarre.   Beryl says it's like they've just pointed at places on a map.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.