Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

A search for answers over the sinking of the HMNZS Manawanui - off Samoa's southern coast. The $100 million naval ship was running a survey off the area when it hit a reef on Saturday night. All 75 people onboard were rescued - it caught fire and sank yesterday morning Former Defence Minister Ron Mark told Ryan Bridge he's gutted as his team fought hard to bring the refurbished ship from Norway in 2019. He expects the Court of Inquiry to be very quick. “They’ll want to ascertain exactly how and why the ship ended up in peril and sinking the way it did.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Monday 7 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.

The British government announced it will hand sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, in a settlement that ends decades of disputes over Britain’s last African colony, while maintaining a key US-British military base in the archipelago. Europe correspondent Vincent McAviney says the UK keeping its military base for another 99 years marks a landmark deal for Prime Minister Keir Starmer's new government. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's several possible reasons behind a rise in the number of homes empty on Census night.  The latest data shows just more than 110 thousand homes were empty, up from just under 100 thousand in 2018.  Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen says part of that could be due to Cyclone Gabrielle flood levels, and high levels of construction.   He told Ryan Bridge that some of the biggest areas with the largest increase in “ghost homes” were Auckland, Gisborne, and Hawke’s Bay.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flooding and landslips are keeping officials busy in Otago.   The area is in a State of Emergency due to heavy rain, with downpours expected to continue into the afternoon.  Fire and Emergency NZ have responded to 31 calls between 6pm last night and 5.30am, with around 70 people evacuating to welfare centres.  Dunedin Civil Defence Manager Scott MacLean told Ryan Bridge their advice is for people to stay home and stay safe.  He said that people should avoid going out driving unless they absolutely have to, as it causes problems for emergency responders.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kudos to Qantas for introducing a wellbeing zone on the cattle class of the aircraft.  Airlines are cramming us in like sardines, anyone who's travelled will know this.  They serve you booze, you recline your seat, the planes dry you out and then as a natural consequence, people go nuts.  Unruly passengers ripping open the emergency doors, running up and down the aisles screaming like mad people.  Globally, physical assaults on aircrafts are up 60% post-pandemic. Air New Zealand alone deals with 200 reports a month of abusive behaviour.  People are responsible for their behaviour, yes, but the airlines are responsible for the environment which you travel in. The world is full of nutty people, and you have to cater for nutty people on aircraft, don't you?  So good on Qantas. From 2026 they will have a dedicated wellbeing area at the front of economy, they've got sculpted wall, integrated handles for exercise, stabilising you in doing some squats or whatever you want to do.  T

The Government is confident their support of frontline Police is coming to fruition.  Recruitment numbers have soared in the past year, with almost 1,400 applicants in July – the highest since 2014.  It's seen around five and a half thousand applicants in the first eight months of the year, more than double across the same period last year.  Associate Police Minister Casey Costello told Ryan Bridge it's encouraging, but there's still some work to do.  She says their attrition rate is still low at 4.8%, while other public sectors have rates of up to 54%.  Costello also assures that the surge in recruits won't compromise the quality of the training, as nothing will change in their approach.  She says they’ve totally committed to ensuring the same standards are maintained.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Health New Zealand is expecting its financial deficit for the past financial year to be near a billion dollars.   The agency's released its report for the June quarter.   Earlier in quarter three, a $299 million surplus was forecast - but the preliminary financial result for the year to the end of June is a $934 million deficit.  Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Executive Director Sarah Dalton told Ryan Bridge services and departments are going to be dealing with significant cuts.   She says some of it will impact staffing levels, and some the ability to implement digital solutions that'll make staff and systems more efficient.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Friday 4th of October, Dunedin has declared a state of emergency following significant rainfall overnight and surface flooding. Civil Defence Controller Scott Maclean has the latest.  Police recruitment wings will be expanded from next year following record applications to join the force. Associate Police Minister Casey Costello speaks to Ryan.  Health New Zealand has gone from a forecast surplus to a nearly $1 billion deficit. What's gone wrong? The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists are on the show to discuss.  Ghost houses - more than 100,000 empty houses found in 2023 census data; do we need a tax on them?  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.

Mood of the boardroom survey, more than 100 of our top business leaders have had their say on the government, its ministers and the economy today. CEOs ranked the performance of the Cabinet Ministers with ‘1’ being not impressive and ‘5’ - very impressive. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon scored with 3.73 whilst keeping his cabinet focused on delivery and education, Minister Erica Stanford was top of the class for Minister Performance resulting with a score of 4.01. Simeon Brown, Nicola Willis and Chris Bishop came closely behind Stanford, Brown resulted with a score of 3.89, Willis and Bishop tied on 3.88. Managing editor for NZME Duncan Bridgeman says that after a year of having a new government, he believes there's some uncertainty around the delivery that Christopher Luxon and his team can pull through when coming down to economic growth with the business community. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nearly 50,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) are on strike Tuesday against the nation’s East and Gulf Coast ports. They are demanding a $5/hour increase in pay every year for the next six years. Mitch McCann, US Correspondent says that New Zealand exporters are likely to be affected by congestion and delays. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade at home advises exporters to stay in contact with the freight companies to see what options are available for them. McCann told Ryan Bridge while the strike continues, they're also advised to keep in touch with the US customers to inform them about potential delays in the coming weeks. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The real proof will be in the pudding – if smoking rates come down, does it matter how she did it?  If it was a non-tobacco company getting a tax cut to provide a product that was less harmful than ciggies would there be outrage?  Or are we blinded by the fact it's a multinational whose legacy has been peddling cigarettes that clouds our judgement?  Are we being rational about this?  Isn't the ultimate goal to reduce smoking rates?  Are the ‘try anything, do it differently’ policies she's pushing going to bring smoking rates down?  Time will tell.  She should have been more on to it and open about the advice she had received on heat not burn products, sure. It's being released this week, we're told.  But calling for her to resign and labelling her as corrupt and in the hands of the tobacco lobby are a bit much.  Costello's own father died of smoking related respiratory disease. She's a Māori woman herself.  Can you imagine if the shoe was on the other foot and

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Thursday 3rd of October, Air NZ has made more cuts to regional flights, and we still don't have a plan for an Interislander replacement. Do we have a transport problem in New Zealand? Former Transport Minister Maurice Williamson joins the show to discuss.  The PPTA are now allowing charter school teachers to join the union in what David Seymour has called a "come to Jesus moment".  The New Zealand Herald's Mood of the Boardroom survey for 2024 is out - what do business leaders have to say about the government? NZME's Managing Editor of Business Duncan Bridgeman speaks to Ryan.  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.

Iran has sent up to 350 missiles and drones into Israel, setting off the sound of explosions and sirens. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says the US Navy destroyers stationed in the Mediterranean Sea intercepted Iranian missiles. He says it was a significant escalation from Iran and it was equally important they could step up to defend Israel. Habib Baar, Journalist and founder of Beirutreport.com speaks to Heather du Plessis-Allan saying he believes Israel has no incentive to stop as they have the full backing of the Western allies of the United States. Israel says nobody was killed because the iron dome worked. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tensions in the Middle East are on a knife's edge in the aftermath of Iran's barrage of missiles on Israel.  The Israeli defence force says there's been no reports of casualties and most of the around 180 projectiles were intercepted.  Iran has confirmed the attack and says it's targeting Israel in response to deaths of Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah.  Reuters Bureau Chief for Israel and Palestine James Mackenzie told Ryan Bridge it’s a big deal despite there having been an attack from Iran back in April.  He said that the first time there was limited damage and a sort of tacit agreement to let it slide, but with it happening again, the stakes are definitely raised.  They’ve already seen a really sharp uptick in essentially the beginning of a war in Israel.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new Bio-Refinery at the Marsden Point Energy Precinct is being proposed. Channel Infrastructure NZ Limited announces it has entered into a conditional project development agreement with Seadra Energy Inc, who is partnering with the likes of  Qantas, Renova Inc, Kent Plc, and ANZ. It would utilize some of the decommissioned oil refinery assets which would be refurbished and reconfigured- taking up approximately 18-20 hectares of land on the site. Brian Cox, Bioenergy Association Chief executive shares his thoughts with Ryan Bridge. “The aspect is we could use the natural resources that New Zealand is rich for. The biggest part is biomass from trees,” says Cox. He states that it could be processed to be used as either fuel or plastic. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JD Vance and Tim Walz are set to do battle for what looks to be the final debate of this US presidential election.  The vice-presidential candidates will meet for their only debate in New York today, which gets underway at 2pm NZ time.  US political commentator Danielle McLaughlin says the buzz could reach the levels of Joe Biden vs Sarah Palin in 2008.  She told Ryan Bridge vice-presidential picks are normally safe, but Walz and especially Vance are really out of the mainstream.  McLaughlin says Vance has been attacking cat ladies and Taylor Swift and has repeatedly spread crazy rumours about Haitian immigrants eating pets in the mid-west.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So Luxon is back in the news. Bryce Edwards written a piece saying our members of parliament own 2.3 homes per MP - more than most of us.  Jacinda made $330,000 on her property while Prime Minister. Luxon has made close to half a million dollars on his properties.  Now let's really talk about a capital gains tax, because we essentially have one on investment property - the bright line test.  You can argue over how long that should be, and governments have changed this from red to blue, from 10 to 2 years.  But let's sideline property for a second and talk about business.  Do you really think it's fair to tax capital gains on the sale of business?  Business owners take huge risk, work incredibly hard and have to deal with stress, late nights, untold hours of lost sleep.  They also employ people, pay them, pay tax on earnings, help support jobs, grow the economy, provide tax base of hospitals/education etc.  Then when they finally are either burnt out or wanting to move o

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 2nd of October, Iran has started firing missiles towards Israel with the iron dome defence system working to stop them. We're live to the Middle East for the latest news.  Tim Walz and JD Vance will take to the stage for the US Vice Presidential debate in New York tomorrow. It could be the final debate ahead of the election in just a few weeks time. Political Analyst Danielle McLaughlin speaks to Ryan.  Marsden Point could soon be home to a refinery again. Channel Infrastructure announced a proposal to open a biorefinery on the site using some of the old infrastructure. Brian Cox from the Bioenergy Association joins the show to discuss.  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.

 On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Monday 1st of October, The Government has released its action plan for the fourth quarter of the year. ACT MP and Under Secretary to the Minister responsible for RMA Reform Simon Court is on the show to discuss the new targets.  The Insurance Council wants people to stop building in “dumb places” where there is a higher risk of a natural disaster. So how do you know you're building in a safe place? Urban planner Bruce Weir speaks to Ryan.  Air New Zealand's regional route between Wellington and Invercargill will stop operating from mid-January 2025, how could it impact tourism in the region? Great South's Chief Executive Chami Abeysinghe joins the show.  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.