Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

I've got an amazing wonder drug to tell you about New Zealand, and it saved me in the last couple of weeks. 

People are talking about it from top of the country to the bottom and it's not Ozempic. 

No, I'm not taking Ozempic, though, I wouldn't mind trying it. I think a lot of people are curious. 

David Seymour made this drug a priority. Yes, I'm talking about pseudoephedr...

Guilty verdicts have been reached in France's mass rape trial.  

Dominique Pelicot's been jailed for 20 years after drugging and raping his wife Gisele and inviting dozens of strangers to do the same for over nearly a decade.  

He was also found guilty of taking indecent images of his daughter and his two daughters-in-law.  

Of the other 50 men on trial, 46 were found guilty of rape, two of attempted rape, and two of...

The Government's teaming up with the private sector to get on top of text scams. 

When people report scam texts as junk on some phones, text messages will soon go directly to the Department of Internal Affairs. 

It can then share the info with telcos so they can be blocked. 

Rush Digital founder and chief executive Danu Abeysuriya told Andrew Dickens we have to work together to solve this problem. 

He sees it as...

Stabilising the economy is not as simple as investing more. 

Stats NZ figures out yesterday show GDP fell 1% in the three months to September. 

They also revised the preceding quarter down to 1.1% contraction, with both figures putting us in deep recession. 

ANZ Economist Henry Russell told Andrew Dickens the Government should be investing more, if it weren't dealing with its own deficits. 

He says there is goin...

The government has announced changes to free speech rules for universities, saying it's concerned that they are currently taking a risk based approach and need more diverse opinions.

The new rules will set out expectations for universities on how to approach freedom of speech issues and each one will have to adopt a free speech statement.

They will also be prohibited from taking positions on issues that don't relate to their core f...

This is my last editorial for the year. 

What a year it’s been, we started in January with Golriz shoplifting, we watched 10,000 jobs go from the public sector and the private sector follow suit as cash stopped bouncing around the economy.

National blamed Labour for everything and Labour blamed National.

We watched Scott Robertson fail to be the second coming but when the All Blacks were good they were very good.

The Treaty Pr...

Many Americans could be in trouble this Christmas. 

Amazon workers across a number of facilities in New York, Illinois, and Southern California are gearing up to strike later this week. 

The strike would take place the week before and during Christmas and Hanukkah, the two biggest gift giving holidays in the US. 

US Correspondent Toni Waterman told Andrew Dickens the workers are calling for better wages, benefits, an...

Infrastructure investment is being held up as being paramount to keeping New Zealand's economy on the right track. 

Stats NZ will release GDP data for the third quarter just before 11am today. 

The major banks are all predicting between a 0.2% and 0.4% contraction, meaning our third technical recession in two years. 

Kiwibank Senior Economist Mary Jo Vergara told Andrew Dickens a lack of infrastructure investment has...

A Lake Alice survivor understands the frustration at the Government's torture redress. 

Eligible people tortured at the psychiatric hospital in the 1970s can take an expedited payment of $150 thousand or apply for independently assessed redress. 

Payments will be made between March and December next year. 

But survivor Jim Goodwin told Andrew Dickens these people have spent their lives being fobbed off and may feel i...

Olympic medal-winning sports have been given a funding boost heading into the 2028 Los Angeles games.

High Performance Sport New Zealand's announced it's investing $162.8 million for 36 national sporting organisations over the next four years.

Rowing, Yachting, Athletics and Para Athletics, Cycling and Para Cycling, and Canoe Racing and Para Canoe are the Podium sports which will receive increased investment - sports that contribut...

Welcome to the fast track world, where parliamentarians have been given the right to approve projects they reckon are good for the country. 

Last night Chris Bishop even referred to himself, Simeon Brown and Shane Jones as the troika - a Russian word referring to 3 parties being a ruling body, so even he knew the remarkable power he was giving himself. 

That power has been watered down but the underlying concern remains.&...

On the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 17th of December, the Treasury has released its half yearly update, and the readings are grim. Barbara Edmonds pushes back against the blame being laid at Labour’s feet. 

A review has proposed a raft of changes to regulations in the early childhood sector, Early Childhood New Zealand CEO Kathy Wolfe joined to discuss the proposal.  

And Andrew wants to...

Early childhood educators are welcoming the Government's proposed changes to the sector. 

A review has made 15 recommendations to simplify and modernise regulation to help better provide safe, high-quality care and education. 

Regulation Minister David Seymour says they represent a major shakeup, promoting innovation, quality, and growth. 

But Early Childhood New Zealand chief executive Kathy Wolfe told Andrew Dicken...

Grim readings from the Treasury's half year economic and fiscal update.

The government's books will stay in the red until at least 2029, a year later than previously predicted. Although the government says it will aim to return to surplus a year earlier. 

Finance Minister Nicola Willis is blaming the opposition for the bad result, saying in the past five years Labour added more than $100 billion to our debt.

Labour's Finance S...

News that Wilson Parking in Fort Street, Auckland, is the most expensive parking in New Zealand says a lot more than just a company creaming it. 

If you turn up first thing at the park and you use the on site machine then a days parking will cost you $74.

Now who pays $74 for a days park?

If you park casually then it will cost you $22 an hour - more than the minimum wage. 

I’m picking that if you park in this park then yo...

A report gives an insight into how we're using pharmaceutical and psychedelic drugs.  

The 2024 New Zealand Drugs Trends Survey of more than 10,000 people shows a quarter of recent psychedelics users took the drugs for their mental health and wellbeing. 

Author Dr Robin van der Sanden says there's growing awareness among the general public about their potential benefits. 

She says it's a global trend, fuelled by thin...

Expectations are low as Treasury allows a peek into its books later today. 

Economist Cameron Bagrie says in the 2024 update, various scenarios were presented for this year. 

He told Andrew Dickens it seems we're on track with the downside prediction. 

Bagrie says it forecast net debt climbing to 45% of GDP and the operating balance remaining in deficit. 

Treasury will unveil its half yearly economic and fiscal ...