Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

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 happened, and they say they're working further at training etcetera to make that all better.   But we can't sit here tucked up on our beds at night, all judgey, when we're not the ones out there in the dead of the night facing more violence, guns, and crime. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, and the lawyers will argue that it's different.  I mean where are we now with our legal bills and our legal aid bills? What have we actually achieved in doing that?  Have we reduced crime, or have we increased the cost of administering a fashion police policy?  That's my only concern. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Democracy is a delicate and fragile thing, and yesterday's protest was a good example of it working.  People oppose something, they protest peacefully, respectfully, they present a petition, they go home.  The bill, by the way, that they don't like, well, it's not becoming law.  You don't have to look far this morning for examples of things going tits up in a big way, and quickly.  We've basically farewelled freedom in Hong Kong, 45 activists sentenced to long-term prison sentences overnight, kids in the West Bank being killed. You've got a tyrant in Putin lowering the bar for the use of nuclear weapons, plus you've got US made long range missiles firing on Russia. But here, we have a functioning democracy.  Now the hīkoi is over, Rawiri Waititi wants to go further. He wants a separate Māori parliament. He wants two systems. He references on his website the Irish, Welsh, and Scottish systems. The latter of which controls its own justice, education, tax systems. How would that work here? Who would fund such a parliament?  Who would fall under the Māori parliament, given 75% of Māori didn't vote for Rawiri's lot at the last election?  How would you build a nation within a nation, separated not by borders, but ethnicity?  Serious question.  You see, democracy works when we're all in it and we're all in it equally.  It's true that not every group will get the same outcomes from that system, but that's no reason to throw the system away entirely.  What it is, sure, is a call to better use that system to effect change through strong and pragmatic leadership, the likes of which Te Pāti Māori has been known for in the past.  Whether you'll get that leadership from Debbie and Waititi... well, we'll have to wait and see. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Freight carriers agree upcoming State Highway 1 repairs are necessary.  The Desert Road in the Central North Island is shutting to traffic between Tūrangi and Waiouru from January 6 until the end of February.  NZTA says the detour will add half an hour and an extra 50km to people’s journey.  National Road Carriers Policy & Advocacy manager, James Smith, says the entire network has maintenance that needs to happen.  He says they've known about it since August, and the road will end up with a much better finish.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many European countries are accusing Russia of sabotage after the cutting of two communication cables under the Baltic Sea.   One of the cables links Finland and Germany, while the other connects Sweden to Lithuania.   It comes as Ukraine's fired its first set of US-made long range missiles into Russia.   While Russia shot down five of them, the shrapnel from a sixth caused a fire at a military facility in the Bryansk region.  Europe correspondent Gavin Grey told Ryan Bridge other moves inside Russia are increasing concern in Europe.   He says Russia has changed its rules around when it can use a nuclear weapon.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are calls for Parliament's Speaker to dish out harsher punishments for things like Te Pati Māori's haka in the House.   Speaker Gerry Brownlee's confirmed he's received complaints.   David Seymour and Shane Jones have both asked him to consider changes.   Former Speaker Sir Lockwood Smith told Ryan Bridge that in recent years, in consultation with the Speaker, iwi present at Treaty Settlements have been able to perform a haka or waiata.   He says there's no reason that can't happen, but it can't just be dumped on the House.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ukraine has fired its first set of US-supplied long range missile at a target inside Russian territory, just a day after the US granted permission for their use.   Russia's defence ministry says five missiles were shot down and another was damaged, with its fragments causing a fire at a military facility in the Bryansk region.  Russia security expert Dmitry Gorenburg says he's not expecting a massive response from Russia.   He told Ryan Bridge they will play the waiting game.   Gorenburg says they're waiting for Donald Trump to take over from Joe Biden to get more concessions.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 20th of November, there are calls in Parliament for harsher penalties for MPs following last week's viral haka. Former Speaker of the House Sir Lockwood Smith speaks to Ryan about the subject.  Ukraine has used US made weapons to strike inside Russian territory on the 1000th day of the war. Russian Security Expert Dmitry Gorenburg joins the show to discuss.  A new report has found concrete roads last longer than tar sealed ones and require less maintenance. James Smith from the National Road Carriers Union has the details.  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.

The Government's appointed a scam-busting minister to coordinate combatting con-artists.   Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly has been named as the minister in charge of coordinating anti-scam efforts.  New Zealand's latest State of Scams report shows more than $2.3 billion was lost this year, up from $2.1 billion last year.  He told Ryan Bridge that there’s six ministries that deal with scams, and a lot of good work is done both within the government and also within the industry, but it’s not coordinated as well as it could be.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flags are already waving and music playing at Parliament ahead of the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arriving there later today.   Hīkoi participants are gathering at Waitangi Park in Wellington City, from which they’ll move along the Golden Mile to Parliament, bringing widespread traffic disruption.  Alistair Boyce, who runs the Backbencher pub across from Parliament, told Ryan Bridge that Police checkpoints were already in place when he arrived for work at around 5:30am.  He says that the Hīkoi should be an economic boon for the city.  What Mayor Tory Whanau needs to do, Boyce says, is stop thinking about attending the protest and instead think about catering for the protest – keeping businesses functioning and the streets open.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New crime figures are a mixed bag for retailers.  Data released by the Police Minister shows a 61% drop in ram raids in the first nine months of the year, compared to the same period in 2023.  But thefts at retail premises are up 12%, and there's been no change in breaking and entering or acts intended to cause injury.  Dairy and Business Owner's Group Vice Chairperson, Ash Parmar told Ryan Bridge the ram-raid reductions are good news, as they brought a high human cost.  He says it was too easy for too long, but a lot of the youths responsible are being picked up by Police more often now.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.