Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

The Major Electricity Users' Group says consumers are grossly over-paying for power.   Electricity prices have risen over the years, both businesses and average citizens struggling to afford their power bills.  Chair John Harbord told Ryan Bridge the companies are producing the same amount of electricity, while making record profits.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a belief a social media ban could benefit young people.  Australia's holding an age-verification trial in coming months, but it's unknown what the cut off age will be, or how it will be enforced.   Christopher Luxon has also expressed interest in the idea.  Parenting expert Nathan Wallis told Ryan Bridge there's a correlation between social media and youth mental health issues.  He says if things like social media are banned, it may be revealed as the major cause of the country's mental health crisis in teens.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US presidential debate looks to be a chance to get to know the candidates.  Vice President Kamala Harris is facing off against Donald Trump for the first time at 1pm our time in Pennsylvania.   No notes are allowed, and microphones will cut off when each candidate's not speaking.  Former US Ambassador to New Zealand under Barack Obama, Mark Gilbert told Ryan Bridge many polls show people still don't know Harris.  He says this will be an opportunity for her to be seen, as more than 50-million people are expected to tune in.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A wild, bizarre, and highly entertaining media scrum took pace in Wellington yesterday, culminating with an MP saying he didn't mind swimming in other people's sewage. Yes, human waste.  A chaotic caucus run with Labour's Ōhāriu MP Greg O'Connor.   He was asked why Wellington's dying - with cafes closing down, etcetera:   "There's not enough to do along that waterfront, there's been stopping things from happening. You can walk a long way there, there's no cafe, there's nowhere to actually get a coffee."  Greg, Greg, Greg. Why don't they just put more cafes in?  These things require business investment and a profit to be had. Could the reason there aren't enough flat whites at Queens wharf be because 1) Labour hiked minimum wage beyond affordability, 2) helped drive inflation sky high through unrestrained government spending, and 3) told everyone to stay home and out of the CBD and the office.  So far so normal, an MP struggling to grasp the realities of running a small business.  Here's where it all gets a bi

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 11th of September, the Electricity, gas, waste, and water services industry saw a 36% rise in sales in Q2 compared to the same time last year. It comes on the same day that Winstone Pulp International announced their closure due to soaring energy costs. What does it mean for our big electricity users? John Harbord from the Major Electricity Users Group speaks to Ryan.  It's a big day in the U.S. as Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will face off in what could be the only debate ahead of November's election. We're live to the U.S. with Democratic Party Member Mark Gilbert.  Our Aussie neighbours are looking at banning social media for kids, and Christopher Luxon says he's open to doing the same here. Could it work, and how would parents police it? Parenting expert Nathan Wallis joins the show to give his thoughts.  Would you swim in polluted water? Labour MP Greg O'Connor says yes, and Ryan has some words of advice for him.  Get the Early Edition

A global manhunt is underway for a man who allegedly poured boiling hot coffee on a nine-month-old baby in Brisbane.  Police say the 33-year-old has fled the country since the August 27th incident in a Stones Corner park.  Australia Correspondent Donna Demaio told Ryan Bridge detectives believe the man escaped less than a day before he was identified.  She says the man was aware of police methodology and was conducting counter-surveillance activities, making the investigation very complex.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a drive for change in the construction industry on the back of a spike in suspected suicide rates.   In 2023, 80 construction workers died from suspected suicides - a jump from previous years.  MATES in Construction Research Manager Lauren Donnan says mental health across the board is improving, but high workloads, job instability, and a lack of support remain key stressors.   She says 15 to 24-year-olds and Māori workers can be particularly vulnerable.   Donnan says we need to understand there are key pressures and groups within the industry at higher risk, where we need to target more support.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

International technology stocks are being credited with the New Zealand Super Fund reporting another record-high investment return: up 15% in the year to June.  Super expert Jonathan Eriksen told Ryan Bridge the results make up for a poor return when markets fell in 2022.  He says they've always gone into a wide range of assets but they're playing it extremely well.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Changes have been revealed to the Treaty Principles Bill.   The Bill's architect David Seymour confirmed that Cabinet discussed the Bill yesterday and agreed to its broad outline before it goes to Parliament's drafters.   He says it'll now acknowledge the rights of hapu and iwi at the time of the Treaty.  Labour's Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson told Ryan Bridge it's interesting he's made some type of concession.   He says it's a backdown, because Seymour hasn't ever acknowledged the rights of hapu and iwi before.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The IRD is giving your data to Facebook – taxpayers' data to Facebook, that was the headline yesterday.  We give them our data in trust and confidence. Well, we don't actually, we give them our data because the law says we must file our tax returns and tell them who we are and how much we're earning.  But perhaps you assume that the law says that they must keep it to themselves. Not so.  I think this is a scandal.   To be honest when I read the headline, I thought IRD must have been hit by one of those phone scams. You know, they've been cold called by Nigerian prince and handed over our private data.  But no, the RNZ report says they give Facebook and the big tech guys some of our information because it's anonymised. They're calling it hashed. So they can't see who you are when they hand it over.  And it's only for the purposes of IRD placing ads on these platforms like Facebook, et cetera, so don't worry about it.  Sorry, I am worried, and I reckon most Kiwis will hate this.  The reason is pretty simple: it

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Tuesday10th of September, slight changes were made to the controversial Treaty Principles Bill in Cabinet yesterday. Labour's Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson joins the show to discuss.  Superfund has reached a value of $76.6 billion - a record for the fund. But what does it mean for the government and New Zealand's markets? Superfund expert Jonathan Eriksen speaks to Ryan.  There were 80 suspected suicides in the construction industry in the past year, so what is the sector doing to improve mental health and wellbeing? MATES in Construction researcher Dr Lauren Donnan joins the show to talk about her latest research and what the industry could do to reduce the number of suicides.  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.

Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzales has arrived in Spain after fleeing the country after its presidential election.  Gonzales had an arrest warrant issued after he disputed July’s election, which was won by incumbent Nicolas Maduro.  The US, EU and Latin American countries have also questioned the election results after Venezuela refused to publish official election data to prove the result.  Europe correspondent Gavin Grey told Ryan Bridge he arrived on a Spanish Royal Air Force plane near Madrid, where he’ll be granted political asylum after having stayed at its embassy in Caracas.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There was a high level of suspense when Peter Cowan crossed the finish line in the final of the men’s single va’a VL3 200m canoe sprint race in Paris.  In his Paralympic Games debut, the 29-year-old from Hawke’s Bay flew out of the blocks in the final to battle for the early lead.  As the contest went on, it looked to be a case of two races for medals; Ukrainian Vladyslav Yepifanov and Jack Eyers of Great Britain contesting the top two spots on the podium, while Cowan, Australian Curtis McGrath and China’s Pu Yi were locked in a race for bronze.  The eight-strong race was over in about 50sec. It was a further 45sec before Cowan got word that he would be the third man on the podium.  “It feels unreal,” Cowan told TVNZ of winning a medal in his Paralympics debut.  In tough, windy conditions, the Kiwi stayed the course and might have been a bit fortunate that McGrath drifted in his lane toward the final stretch of the race, with Cowan crossing the line just 0.06sec ahead of the Australian who beat him in their h

Interesting op-ed from The Conversation by Chris Gledhill, Professor of Law at Auckland University of Technology.  It's about the Government's new gang legislation and argues that the changes that are being made in some last-minute ones could impinge on the Bill of Rights, and it makes some good points.  It says people join gangs for various reasons for some it's a matter of family connections, for others gang membership may arise from being marginalised from society.  The Royal Commission on Abuse and Care highlighted that abuse was also a pathway into gang membership, and in 2018 a report highlighted that imprisonment feeds gang recruitment. So, you don't have a choice?  If you are poor, if you have family in a gang, if you went to jail and they recruited you in jail, that's on society, not on you. You don't have a choice in the matter?  It's a crucial part of the puzzle because it sets up the entire system of response to dealing with the problem.  If you're not responsible or capable of saying no to a gang

The Mayor of the Ruapehu District wants the Government to step in to save two businesses facing closure.  Hundreds of jobs are on the line - with the Kariori pulpmill and Tangiwai sawmill both under pressure, as energy costs have gone up significantly in recent years.  A meeting on the fate of hundreds of workers is expected tomorrow.  Ruapehu District Mayor Weston Kirton told Ryan Bridge this is not a new issue - as Tiwai Point was bailed out.  He says the Government can cap electricity prices to allow the mills to get over the line  until the issue evens out.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A criminal defence lawyer says it's very rare to see the public caught in the crossfire of a homicide.   Since the start of August, Police have launched 11 homicide investigations around the country.   One has since been deemed not a homicide and has been referred to the coroner.   Lawyer John Munro told Ryan Bridge Police may be stretched.  “The promising thing is that we have a very, very good Police force. They’re very well-equipped, they’re good Police, they’re competent.”  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Monday 9 September. 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.

Will this week bring redemption for the All Blacks? Last week saw them lose to South Africa, the Springboks taking the win at Ellis Park.  This Sunday will see them facing off again in Cape Town, and Coach Scott Robertson has made a few changes to the lineup in preparation.  Former Springbok and Rugby Commentator Kevin Putt joined Ryan Bridge to preview the match and give his thoughts on the changes to the squad.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are hopes New Zealand can help lead the effort to clean up space.   Space Minister Judith Collins has announced we've joined a US-led multi-national space initiative: Operation Olympic Defender.  International space expert Maria Pozza told Ryan Bridge that as well as defence, it will see New Zealand contribute to reducing space debris.  She says in recent decades space junk has become a key issue, and sustainable use of space is becoming increasingly important.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

France has a new Prime Minister, ending the country's months long political limbo.   President Emmanuel Macron has named conservative Michel Barnier as the new Prime Minister.  It comes two months after a snap election ended with a political stalemate.  Europe Correspondent Vincent McAviney told Ryan Bridge that Barnier was the EU's former chief Brexit negotiator.  He says they'll see whether it gets France going again after the truce they've had through the Olympics.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.