Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

A better end to the year than expected for the dairy sector. 

Fonterra has raised its forecast Farmgate Milk Price's midpoint for the second time in less than a month. 

It's up 50 cents to $10 dollars, citing strong demand from China and south-east Asia. 

Forsyth Barr Senior Analyst Matt Montgomerie told Ryan Bridge that demand from China has been sluggish for some time, so it’s pleasing to see they’re returning in s...

French President Emmanuel Macron is due to address his nation this morning following yesterday's ousting of Prime Minister Michel Barnier. 

Correspondent Vincent McAviney told Ryan Bridge that Macron's future is increasingly uncertain. 

He says Macron doesn't have a Prime Minister or a government and can't hold fresh elections until the middle of next year. 

Barnier is staying on as acting PM, including for this week...

There’s a warning from the Police Association that the wait for more cops will hurt the force. 

The Government wants 500 more cops by the end of next year. 

But new commissioner Richard Chambers says to ensure proper training, June 2026 is more likely. 

Association President Chris Cahill told Ryan Bridge the delayed timeline will have an effect. 

He says they are already moving staff across different roles, leav...

So it looks like looks like police will miss the deadline of adding 500 extra sworn officers by 2026.

What we were promised should take two years. Now the new Police Commissioner, when fronting scrutiny week in parliament, he said it will take 2.5 years. 

So an extra six months - will anyone really care? Probably not.

Should we care? 

When there are more bad guys out there doing bad things, we should always care about how...

The Green Party's concerned beneficiaries will be slapped with massive debt due to the Ministry of Social Development's mistakes. 

MSD's revealed nearly 1-in-4 benefit entitlements aren't being processed correctly. 

It's cited complexity of cases, systems challenges and weakness within its internal capability, and says accuracy's been declining for three or four years.  

Greens Social Development spokesperson Ricardo...

The manhunt continues for a gunman after a top US executive was fatally shot in the back in New York's Manhattan.  

The victim is 50 year old UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson.  

Police say it was a brazen, targeted attack carried out by someone who was proficient with firearms.  

US Correspondent Kate Fisher told Ryan Bridge that authorities are telling people not to panic.  

She says Mayor Eric Adams is assuring...

More international students are keen on studying in New Zealand. 

Data shows the number of international students has grown by 6% since last year. 

Universities are still at a pre-pandemic capacity, despite the growth in the sector this year. 

Education New Zealand General Manager Geoff Bilbrough told Ryan Bridge that countries like Canada and Australia putting caps on foreign students will benefit our sector. 

...

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Thursday the 5th of December. Nearly one in four beneficaries are being paid incorrectly when the target is 95% correct payment. What is the Ministry for Social Development doing wrong and how can it be fixed? Green Party Social Development Spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March joins the show.

The government is looking at advice on our biogenic methane as they look to set ne...

That's basically the question you've got to ask yourself after the latest wool snub.

This time it was Kāinga Ora saying no to Kiwi made woollen carpet for state houses, and yes to synthetic imported stuff. 

Why? It's cheaper.

We've been here before, you'll remember the school classrooms - same story.

It's happened again despite the coalition agreement deal with New Zealand First ensuring wool carped is used where practical - a...

A  government appointed scientific panel has found that by reducing our methane emissions to 24% by 2050 we would meet the goal of not seeing additional warming above 2017 levels.

But the climate change commission has warned there's no evidence to support changing the existing target of up to 47 percent. 

Associate Minister for Agriculture Andrew Hoggard says the government will work with the sector when looking at any ch...

All Black Sevu Reece has avoided conviction a second time after damaging a Christchurch property. 

The 27-year-old crashed a car into a garage door after being asked to leave a post-Cup Day party last year. 

The Crusader's been discharged without conviction after admitting a reduced charge of wilful damage. 

In 2018, Reece was granted a discharge for assaulting his then-partner. 

Rugby Commentator Tony Johnson t...

There's hopes a shakeup at Auckland Transport will bring more democratic decisions.  

The council will now take control of transport policy and planning, as well as road control.  

A new Auckland Regional Transport Committee will be created to develop a 30-year transport plan – agreed to by Cabinet and the council.  

Howick Local board Chair Damian Light told Ryan Bridge it could mean locations for controversial infr...

The former Health New Zealand chair says a lot of the estimate issues we're seeing carry over from the DHBs.  

The health service has reported a $1.1 billion deficit – lower than the $1.76 billion it was initially signalling.  

The revised deficit was revealed at yesterday's review of the Ministry of Health, and has prompted backlash from opposition MPs.  

Former Chair Rob Campbell told Ryan Bridge that Health New Ze...

Here's a question for you this morning - How much will ever be enough to spend on health? 

The answer is there will never be enough, so you got to make do with what you got. 

At least that is what Health New Zealand is trying to do. 

At the moment, we spend $30 billion bucks a year, that's just taxpayer money on health. It is middle of the road for the OECD in terms of percentage of GDP comparisons. 

Accord...

It was a landmark judgement on a more than 20-year court saga surrounding Māori customary rights to the foreshore and seabed. 

The Supreme Court's allowing an Attorney-General appeal against a Court of Appeal judgment, made in October last year.   

It's rejected the judgment as a narrow interpretation of criteria for customary marine titles, and reaffirmed the role of tikanga Māori in guiding decisions.  

Former...

The nurses’ union is confident today's strike won't negatively impact patients. 

Bargaining between the Nurses Organisation and Health New Zealand is deadlocked, with workers opposing changes which would see a reduced number of nurses caring for patients. 

They say it risks patient safety and are walking off the job at every Te Whatu Ora facility nationwide between 11am and 7pm today.  

Nurses Organisation Chief Exec...

More targeted support is on the way for beneficiaries on the jobseeker benefit, but questions have been raised about punishing people who don't move for jobs.

Job losses have been a big problem in regional New Zealand this year, with two big mills closing in the Ruapehu District costing over 200 people their jobs.

Mayor Weston Kirton told Ryan Bridge there simply aren't any regional jobs around.

"We've got only a limited number of ...