Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

Do you know what's really starts to rub me the wrong way? It's governments telling us to do more things. This morning, we've got the government coming out with yet another hotline. Sounds fancy. Sounds efficient. It's a hotline to report road cones. A road cone tipline. Sorry, but if the problem is that there are too many road cones on the road, and they're unnecessary for the work being carried out —which half of them appear to be— then why do you need us to tell you that? Surely if we just had better, clearer rules and less bullshit, we wouldn't need a road cone tipline. A pothole tipline. A 105 theft tipline. A beneficiary tipline. Either you know what you're doing and you've got smart people and smart systems, or you don't. And every time I hear of another tipline I realise, they have no idea. Tiplines are the equivalent of a safety calming measure. Those weird speed bumps or narrowing roads, designed to make people feel better when driving around. All they really do is piss people off and reveal how rubbish your road designs are to begin with. Just think about this: There's a bunch of road cones in a dumb place on a busy road. WorkSafe and NZTA and Council people drive past this busy spot every day. Barbara in her little Honda Civic, she drives past. She calls it in. Barry in his truck and trailer. He calls it in. Sally picks the kids up at 3pm from school every day. They all ring the tipline. They all report the same thing. It will then be somebody's job to sort through the tips. Somebody else will triage the tips. That's two jobs. In three weeks, Barry, Sally, and Barb get a letter. Because the post only runs two days a week. The letter says we're looking into the issue for you. Meanwhile, 100 government or council people have walked or driven past the road cone Armageddon and nothing's changed. Tiplines are plasters over grenades. The only time I want to ring a tipline is speak to the actual dump. In its first 156 days in office, the National-led government has set up 37 reviews, inquiries or advisory panels – some of which are being led by former ministers, including Bill English, Steven Joyce, Murray McCully and Roger Sowry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I went out for lunch to a café the other day and our table was served by a couple of waiters who all seemed to have a similar vibe about them. They just. Did. Not. Seem. To. Care. No smiling. No banter. No small talk or polite conversation. Just this blank look on their faces. You sit there and think “did they hear me”? You ever so politely repeat yourself in case they didn't. But they did. They got it. There's just no engagement. Face colder than a witch's tit. No refills of your water. No "would you like another coffee?" Like, hello!? Is anybody in there? Is anyone home? Why are you all moving so slowly? Shouldn't you be rushing the joint taking orders and filling coffees? When I was young it was drilled into us: when you're waiting tables and taking orders. You work your way up from "dish pig" to front of house. You basically run round busy as a bee, trying to impress your boss, trying to win your guests over. Taking wagers of who might get a tip. "Can I help you, sir? What more can I get you?" You'd help the elderly into their seats. You'd bend over backwards to make everyone happy. And these guys are on at least $23 an hour. And I know what you're thinking, maybe I'm the a-hole. Maybe I've forgotten mum's many sermons on good manners and etiquette. So I asked the people who I was out to lunch with - they all thought the same thing. I asked friends who are teachers, I asked parents with kids around that age. Guess what? They've all noticed the same thing happening. Hell, there's even a TikTok trend called ‘the Gen Z stare', which describes what I saw at the café - the vacant look a Gen Zer gives in response to a question or statement. If it's in TikTok then it must be a thing, right? So the question is why? Was it Covid? Was it everyone wearing masks? So much of how we communicate is through facial expressions, maybe they've missed out on years of social queues and norms? Is the smartphones? Is it both? Or, maybe, just maybe, they just don't give a shit? Maybe we have on our hands a generation of young people who don't really think they NEED to be bothering with mundane things like work. Disclaimer: this is is obviously not an entire generation of young people. And some people are just shy. I get that. We've all had excellent experiences. But, y'know. Is this a thing you too have noticed? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Teachers say they're struggling to deal with increasing violent incidents due to a lack of learning support. New data shows 12,300 students have been disciplined for physical assault on teachers and students this year – a 49% jump from 2019. PPTA President Chris Abercrombie told Francesca Rudkin teachers have been given increasingly more restraint training to deal with these incidents, but the main problem is with students' unmet needs. He says our children are coming to school with complex needs, a lot involving mental health issues. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The UK is looking to tackle radicalisation and extreme misogyny early. Millions of pounds will be invested into schools to train teachers to spot signs of misogyny among boys and course correct. Funding will also go towards courses for radicalised young men. It's to counter concerns about pornography and online misogynistic influencers. UK correspondent Vincent McAviney told Francesca Rudkin it's a key part of the government's legislative agenda. He says two women die a week from domestic violence. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's thought the closure of Gloriavale school is more complicated than just finding a new school. The Secretary for Education has cancelled the Christian sect school's licence, forcing it closed from January. It's been on notice for several weeks after failing another audit and being ruled physically and mentally unsafe for students. Education researcher Liz Gordon told Francesca Rudkin says it's not as straightforward as moving the students elsewhere. She wants the ministry to take a group of professional teachers into the community, to allow the kids to be taught there. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Francesca Rudkin Full Show Podcast Friday the 19th of December 2025, The economy's rebounded into 1.1% growth in the September quarter, ahead of forecasts Independent Economist Cameron Bagrie shares his thoughts. Schools are dealing with more fights and assaults than ever before, PPTA President Chris Abercrombie tells Francesca why the problem has got worse. Gloriavale's school will shut down from January next year, educational researcher and community activist Liz Gordon tells Francesca what will happen from here. Plus, UK/Europe Correspondent Vincent McAviney has the latest on Zelensky urging European Union leaders to loan billions of euros in frozen Russian money to fund Ukraine and Teachers in England will be given training to spot and tackle misogyny in the classroom. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An economist says the economy has some forward motion. Stats NZ data shows a 1.1% GDP increase in the September quarter. Independent Economist Cameron Bagrie says he expects to see 2 to 3 percent growth over the next 12 months is likely. He told Francesca Rudkin there are other statistics trending in a positive direction. Bagrie says that includes more hours worked and greater bank lending into the business sector. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Confirmation that the economy grew strongly in the third quarter of the year is welcome news before Christmas”, Finance Minister Nicola Willis stated in the first line of her press release yesterday. ‘Welcome news' may be a bit of an understatement, given the context of recent attempts to undermine Nicola Willis and the Government's approach to righting the economy. Willis also needed the good GDP news after a disappointing Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update on Tuesday, in which almost every economic and fiscal indicator moved ever so slightly in the wrong direction. The GDP results showed the economy did better than expected in the September quarter, growing 1.1%. GDP per capita rose 0.9% for the quarter, if that's how you prefer to measure it. The increase in economic activity was broad based, with increases in 14 of the 16 industries that Stats NZ looks at. This is good news. But the problem with GDP figures is they're provisional and often revised. That's what has happened with the previous June quarter – which did worse than previously thought, falling one percent. If you look at it from an annual point of view, from September to September, the economy contracted 0.5%. These numbers provide an overview of what's going on. They are a sign of a gentle uptick rather than a booming recovery. But they don't give politicians a true sense of what is going on in New Zealanders day to day lives. As Liam Dann wrote recently, GDP doesn't capture wealth distribution, it doesn't tell us about the health of our nation, or the overall happiness of its people. As the end of the year approaches, Luxon and Willis survive ‘25 to enjoy a summer BBQ and a bevy or two and get to return to their leadership roles in 2026. But hopefully they and their politician colleagues will spend some time over the summer listening to ordinary Kiwis to get a sense of how New Zealanders are feeling about the cost of living, job security, and the challenges facing those running a business. Yesterday's GDP figures give Willis breathing room. But the pressure is on next year. Willis is excellent at sticking to her core messaging of fiscal discipline without causing misery to voters. It's a plan that holds some risk – there's little room to deal with the consequences of potential natural disasters or global financial crisis in the near future. The ‘steady as you go' message will remain next year, and yet there's a sense the hard yards haven't started yet. If we're going to meet the 2029 – 2030 surplus target, the ruler is likely going to have to come out again. Social services and public servants will most likely be the targets. In the meantime, we can head into the New Year with some cautious optimism that the economy may have peaked a look around the corner. I like the expression one of my listeners suggested to me on Sunday – ‘brick by brick in 26'. Maybe then we might have built something a more stable by 2027. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's thought there are few silver linings to come from the Government's road cone hotline. The pilot, which encouraged the public to report excessive cone use, ends tomorrow, six months ahead of schedule. Site visits found 86% of worksites were already compliant, and Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden says the trial has done what it needed to do. CEO of traffic management company Parallaxx Dave Tilton told Andrew Dickens some of the data collection may be useful. He says it brought the road control authorities including NZTA, WorkSafe, and councils together well. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the major banks is predicting some of the best quarterly GDP figures in years. Stats NZ is releasing the economic figures for the three months ending September this morning, with the Reserve Bank's forecasting growth of 0.4%. Westpac predicts a 0.9% gain, putting that down to a jump in activity across the board. Chief Economist Kelly Eckhold told Andrew Dickens it would fill in a hole from the previous quarter. But he says there needs to be two or three quarters of growth before people can be confident the country is on an upward trend. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The self-inflicted deaths of six Northland young people reveals dangerous flaws in our suicide prevention system. An inquiry by Northland Coroner Tania Tetitaha into the deaths calls for a single, coordinated system. The youths had worked with up to 17 agencies - that hadn't seemed to identify or follow up on their need for support. Mindworks psychologist Sara Chatwin told Andrew Dickens we don't need more thinking groups and documentation, but rather people who have the skills and willingness to deal with these issues. She says in New Zealand, we clearly have a huge problem that other countries are very aware of. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm still in slack mouthed shock at Barbara Edmonds' performance on this programme yesterday. After the release of the Government's books showing we're still in deficit and will be in deficit longer and with every day that passes our debt grows, Labour was quick to say National has screwed things up and we should have voted Labour onto the Treasury benches. I would have thought that would mean they knew how to do things better. Therefore, they could perhaps tell you and I what should have been done. So, we gave them the opportunity to share their superior knowledge, particularly with you the voter, yesterday morning And what did we get? Nothing other than slogans and a general tone of "just trust us things could have been better and we'll tell you why next year". Now to be fair, she did criticise National's tax cuts. That was the moving of the thresholds and reinstating the rebates for landlords. That had the effect of reducing government revenue by $14 billion dollars. $14 billion that could have been used to repay the debt or build infrastructure. Now the thresholds were morally wrong, and I agree with resetting them. They were giving the government an automatic tax rise due to wage inflation. But changing them in a time of economic downturn when your revenue was reducing anyway was a self-inflicted wound on the books. But they had promised them in the election, calling them a tool against the rise in the cost of living. But that was no better than Barbara Edmonds yesterday, it was a slogan to get votes. I don't know if National knew that purposely reducing their revenue was unsustainable. Slashing their own revenue undid all the work they did cutting spending. If they did know that was possible then that's a piece of economic foolishness. And this is what worries me the most about this country and all its politicians. They'll say anything to get votes. They care more about keeping their jobs rather than making the country better. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast Thursday the 18th of December 2025, it's the final GDP for the year, Westpac Chief Economist Kelly Eckhold tells Andrew what he's expecting. The Government's announced the road cone hotline will close as it hits it's objectives, Dave Tilton, Chair of the Temporary Traffic Management Industry Steering Group shares his thoughts. Coroner Tania Tetihaha says the system is broken after probing the suicides of six young people, Psychologist at Mindworks Sara Chatwin shares her thoughts. Plus, US Correspondent Jagruti Dave has the latest on Trump announcing a "blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers in and out of Venezuela and the White House reaction to Trump's chief of Staff Susie Wiles's Vanity Fair interviews. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A transport voice says there's some sense to the Government's new mega-Ministry idea. It wants to abolish the environment, housing and urban development, and transport ministries and introduce a new Ministry of Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport – M CERT. It argues these areas are undergoing reforms and right now the system's too fragmented. Transporting NZ's Dom Kalasih told Andrew Dickens navigating across multiple agencies can carry challenges, and sometimes "less is more". He says transport's one part of a larger eco-system so taking a more unified connected approach makes some sense. However, there's a worry that projects that are already on the go, such as road user and congestion charges, may not be achieved as efficiently. Kalasih says the sector's just started to gain momentum in these areas. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour believes it's more financially responsible than the current Government following the release of Treasury's Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update. It's predicting economic growth of just 1.7% in 2026, well down on the May Budget's 2.9% forecast. Labour's Finance and Economy spokesperson Barbara Edmonds was asked by Andrew Dickens whether her party would have increased taxes to get back in black faster. She says they would have followed the same plan they had in 2023, before the election, but ultimately it comes down to choices. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A belief whistleblowers are vital to exposing voting failures after a South Auckland local body election was overturned. Judge Richard McIlraith ruled irregularities altered the outcome of the Papatoetoe vote for the Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board. The case involved stolen voting papers and fraudulent use. A new election must be held by April 9. Transparency International NZ CEO Julie Haggie told Andrew Dickens there's no sign of wider system problems nationally. She says it does seem to be picking up them, as someone made a case for a district court inquiry and got a result. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast Wednesday the 17th of December 2025, The Government's books are worse than expected, with the surplus timeline pushed back to 2029/30, Labour Economic Spokesperson Barbara Edmonds shares her thoughts. Transport, environment and housing are being merged in to one ministry, Transporting NZ Chief Executive Officer Dom Kalasih tells Andrew what he thinks of the idea. There are concerns about the integrity of our elections after a South Auckland local body result was thrown out over claims of voter fraud, Transparency International NZ CEO Julie Hague shares her thoughts. Plus, UK/ Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey has the latest on the jail sentencing for man who used his car to plough into more than 130 people at Liverpool Football Club and Donald Trump suing the BBC for defamation. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're broke. The Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows we're still in debt and the debt is getting bigger. So, we're broke. Not enough money, everything's more expensive so it's off to the money lender before the bailiffs come in and sell everything. Sounds like a lot of households around me. Ideally, we'd be in a surplus - that's when we have more money than costs. But we aren't and the possibility of that happening has got further away. Make no mistake, deficit is bad, but surplus is only okay. That's how bad we are. And we're getting more and more in debt. The Government has a debt to GDP ratio of 41.8% and it's forecast to rise to over 46% before it starts going down. But lets put another lens on this: the New Zealand Government has posted a surplus 17 times since 1980. That's 17 times in 45 years. So the government has been broke 62% of the time since then. Being broke is our normal. And if I applied the surplus/deficit/debt ratio to my own finances then I've been broke most of my adult life. I mean, who hasn't had a debt-to-equity ratio of 95% in their lives? So if you look at it that way it's not so bad. And we're still in the right half of the indebted nations list. Everyone's broke. We're a bit naïve when we demand surpluses about just how hard it is to do. Listen to Steven Joyce on Heather's show yesterday: government books are hard to turn like a super tanker. As he said yesterday, it can take a decade. But some of us think a few public service cuts and cuts to benefits and we'd be tickety boo. But our fiscal crisis is far more fundamental than that. What we really need to do is make more money in the world, so we have more tax revenue, so we have more good stuff and less debt. So, what are you standing there listening to this for? Get to work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lawyers say they can't pinpoint the reason there's been an increase in complaints. The Law Society's annual report reveals more clients are raising their concerns, particularly around incompetence. New Zealand Law Association Vice President Julie-Anne Kincade told Andrew Dickens with more people using AI to research their legal issues, they're needing to manage expectations. She welcomes clients doing their own research but it's important people remember lawyers are the experts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We'll get a clearer picture of the Government's spending plans heading into an election year this afternoon. Treasury's releasing the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update at 1pm, alongside the Budget Policy Statement, setting out the economic outlook and spending priorities. Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen Andrew Dickens governments are often expected to loosen the purse strings in an election year. He says the Government might spend less than they hoped if the books aren't looking too flash. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A deadly terror attack at Sydney's Bondi Beach is feeding speculation of potential intelligence errors. Two gunmen opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday evening, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more. A 24-year-old suspect remains in hospital under police guard, while his 50-year-old father, the other alleged offender, was shot dead. The younger man, who's suspected of orchestrating the attack, had previously been investigated by the country's security agency and hadn't been considered a threat. But Massey University Defence Studies Professor John Battersby says we shouldn't jump to conclusions until more details emerge. He told Andrew Dickens intelligence capabilities are always limited by the resources put into them. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 16 December. 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.

Yesterday was a sad, morose day reflecting on the Jewish deaths and their horror, made worse by a never-ending stream of video coverage from every angle. Never has a massacre been as documented and then distributed. The power of citizens with broadcast studios in their phones. The uncensored images spread by the very social media that Australia banned for the under 16s this past week. And we saw the victims - dead, dying, and being given CPR. In their summer shorts and flip flops ready for a day of family fun by the sea. They looked like us. Because they are us. Meanwhile the father and son looked unremarkable. Portly. Fat on the life of comfort Australia gave them and yet they did what they did. The face of evil is so often banal. Second: are you now realising that Winston Peters knew what he was talking about when he refused to back a state of Palestine? I was one of the few who agreed - there is no state, there is no governing authority or governance legitimacy. But underneath it all there was no indication that Palestinians want peace. His concern was Hamas was still armed, and recognition could push Hamas towards a more hardened position. So, in the wake of the killings there was a Jewish bloke interviewed in front of the dead and the dying and he let rip. He talked about October 7th. He talked about Hamas' atrocities and then he railed about Albanese and all the other states and statesman who then sent money to Gaza and made virtue signalling noises about state recognition, and lo and behold what do we see? An empowered people with a big grudge still adopting a hardened position. Benjamin Netanyahu wrote to Anthony Albanese in August, warning that the government's decision to recognise a Palestinian state “pours fuel on the antisemitic fire … emboldens those who menace Australian Jews and encourages the Jew hatred now stalking your streets.” Was he wrong? Apparently, we have a peace process. Obviously, it's not working. Apparently the end game for the end of violence is a two-state solution, but can we really see these two people co-existing any time soon?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today marks the beginning of road side drug testing - starting exclusively in the Wellington District. The scheme's pilot will see police conducting random roadside saliva tests - screening for cannabis, methamphetamine, MDMA, and cocaine. The initiative begins in the capital before scaling up from April until coverage is nationwide by mid next-year. Any drivers whose tests come back positive, will need to do a lab test which also checks for 25 other substances. Positive tests can result in 12 hour disqualifications from driving and possible infringement notices. Police Association President Steve Watt shares his thoughts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After Bondi It now seems obvious that antisemitism is out the gate. Particularly in Australia with a large population who hail from the middle east, but increasingly so in this country and around the world. and I don't think the genie is going to be put back in the bottle any time soon. The conflict in Gaza starting with the Hamas attack on the music festival in October 2023 has only intensified the conflict between faiths. and you don't want to victim blame but Israel's reaction to the original attack has not calmed the situation but further radicalised Moslems. Presenting talkback on the Gaza situation over the past 2 years I have been at pains to separate the Israel State from the Jewish faith but that has been impossible for both sides. Not helped by Netanyahu who goes out of his way to make sure you know the faith is the state and vice versa. Any talk of Gazan bloodshed by Israel is always pulled back to October the 7th 2023. And any talk about the Hamas atrocity is always linked back to the Israeli counter moves. Any criticism of Israel's actions is always branded antisemitism by supporters of Israel. Both sides now locked in a deadly dance with no middle ground of peace. A dance that has been there since 1948 but today is more furious than ever. Blessed are the peacemakers they say but where are they. One reported blessing is that the Australian hero who disarmed a Bondi attacker was himself an Arab. A local fruit shop owner. Showing that the killers are not indicative of all Moslems. Hopefully that might ease the wave of Islamophobia that is almost inevitable.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast Monday the 15th of December 2025, Police begin roadside drug testing from today, Police Association President, Steve Watt tells Andrew what officers are preparing for. UK police tighten security around synagogues celebrating Hanukkah following the Bondi Beach shooting in Australia, UK/Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey has the latest. Elliott Smith has the latest on the weekend's sport. Plus, James Cameron's warned about the future of our film industry, Chair of Screen Music and Sound Guild, John McKay shares his thoughts. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Primary school principals are doubling down on their call for a better pay offer. Principals belonging to the NZEI union have rejected the Government's latest collective agreement offer, including a 4.6% pay rise. They say it's substantially inferior to the deal accepted by secondary school principals. Principal Karl Vasau, the principal for Rowandale Primary School, told Andrew Dickens they're working hard to get huge changes implemented quickly, and they want acknowledgement. He says they're drawing a line in the sand. The Public Service Commissioner says he's disappointed the offer hasn't been accepted. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Swings and roundabouts for the dairy sector, with prices set to weaken. Research by Rabobank suggests overall global production peaked last quarter, and this quarter won't be far behind. EU and UK are seeing their strongest growth since 2017 and US milk output has increased for five consecutive months. Lincoln University Adjunct Professor Jacqueline Rowarth told Andrew Dickens dairy farmers aren't feeling too glum, coming off good margins. She says they feel good when people want their product, and that joy's clearly spreading to other countries. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Costs to fix our water infrastructure are increasing as we get a better picture of its current state. Every council has now submitted their plan under the Government's Local Water Done Well programme. As Newstalk ZB first revealed last week, the final bill is expected to be almost $48 billion - about $9 billion more than first thought. Water New Zealand Chief Executive Gillian Blythe told Andrew Dickens with all the plans submitted, we've now got a better picture of water infrastructure than we ever have before. She says it's like when you look at your own house and realise you've got to spend some money fixing a roof or painting a window. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Friday 12th of December 2025, primary school principals have rejected the government's latest pay offer, Rowandale Primary School Principal Karl Vasau tells Andrew why. A new report from Rabobank says there's "too much milk for the market", Director at DairyNZ Dr Jacqueline Rowarth shares her thoughts. Local Water Done Well is going to cost $9 billion dollars more than previously estimated, Water New Zealand Chair Gillian Blythe tells Andrew why water is so expensive. Plus UK/Europe Correspondent Vincent McAviney has the latest on more than 600 artefacts of significant cultural value stolen from Bristol Museum's archive and Iceland will boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I don't want to ask what America is thinking, but what are they thinking? As more details of their social media information requests to enter the States came to light yesterday, the less I wanted to go there. To get in I need to supply a wealth of personal information, including DNA and all my social media links. Now I love America and its people, but if I have to jump through all those hoops my first reaction is "forget it". The Land of the Free is no longer the Land of the Free Speech. Say the wrong thing on social media and they may cancel you. This is worse than anything under Biden or Obama, it's cancel culture writ large. And the irony is that it's so dumb. If you're really an enemy of the States, you've already cancelled all your social media. This will cancel the tourists, not the terrorists. Righto: here's the most bonkers thing I heard yesterday out of Trump's America Secretary of State Marco Rubio halted the State Department's official use of the typeface Calibri, calling the Biden-era move “wasteful,” and ordered the return of Times New Roman. He called it a part of a push to stamp out diversity. Now how does that work? Well in 2023, Secretary of State Antony Blinken ordered the typeface change to Calibri to improve accessibility for readers with disabilities, such as low vision and dyslexia, and people who use assistive technologies, such as screen readers. Now that was true, it was invented for people with low vision, and by the way it's Microsoft Office's default font and apparently it works, but apparently that's woke. So back to Times New Roman we go, and the left are saying it tallies with MAGA's obsession with all things Roman. And it would all be just a funny margin in history if it wasn't so expensive and therefore wasteful. You'd think that you'd just ask everyone to change their default and off we go. But no. Teams are going to have to check every little unit. Apparently, that's $145 thousand an agency, and there's a lot of agencies in American bureaucracy. And here's the real rub: Times New Roman takes more ink. And then when you calculate the sheer volume of wordage coming out of the American state, the cost actually mounts into the many millions. The right often complains about the cost of crazy left-wing ideology, seemingly blissfully unaware that they're just as ideologically crazy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Could the worst of the brain drain be over? Though migration remains low year-on-year, provisional figures show that net migration for October was up 7% on 2024. Massey University Sociologist Paul Spoonley told Andrew Dickens he's optimistic we're starting to see it plateauing, if not turning around. He says the pull of Australia is still very strong, but in terms on non-New Zealand migrant departures, that's looking a bit healthier. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are areas for improvement in how we prevent cancer, with the number of new cases expected to jump in the next two decades. The Cancer Control Agency's latest State of Cancer report shows cancer's on the rise. Diagnoses are expected to rise from 30 thousand this year to more than 45 thousand in 2044. Cancer Society National Chief Executive Nicola Coom told Andrew Dickens people with cancer are living longer, but we could have less cancer to begin with if we introduced more screening. She says other OECD countries we compare ourselves to are preventing more cancer because they do far more in the cancer prevention space than we do. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast Thursday the 11th of December 2025, Parliament's education and workforce committee has dropped its interim report on youth online harm, Dr Parmjeet Parmar who represents Act of the committee shares her thoughts. Emeritus Professor & Massey University Sociologist, Paul Spoonley tells Andrew whether or not the worst of the brain drain is over. The Cancer Control Agency has released it's 2025 report, Chief Executive for the Southern Cancer Society Nicola Coom shares her thoughts. Plus, US Correspondent Mitch McCann has the latest on Trump's rally in Pennsylvania and plans in the US to scrutinize foreign visitors social media. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACT says New Zealand isn't ready to follow Australia with a youth social media ban. An interim report from Parliament's education committee suggests we consider taking a similar approach to our neighbours, who introduced a ban yesterday. It's found social media is exposing young people to a wide range of harm. Act representative Parmjeet Parmar told Andrew Dickens we should watch how the policy unfolds in Australia before moving ahead with our own. She says this is a natural experiment happening in real time, and it would be irresponsible to rush forward with a ban. LISTEN ABOVESSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The story that keeps getting my goat this week has been the accusation that New Zealanders take too many holidays over the Christmas-January period. It's burbled along since the weekend. Business owners, economists, Simon Bridges, and talkback callers all alleging that the country closes down for a month and that's killing our productivity. But there's no proof of that and the allegations seem little better than reckons. Let's remember that the rest of the Christian world are also off for Christmas-New Year, so we're not losing competitiveness over that week. And the northern hemisphere closes down for August while we're working our butts off. Maybe some of the people moaning about the summer break have lost track of reality for most New Zealand workers. The minimum statuary leave for most New Zealanders is 4 weeks after a year of employment. 20 precious days that week out over 12 months. There are four big school holiday periods that parents need to think about. For most New Zealanders, a big summer holiday might last until the second week of January and the longer you take over summer the longer you have to work over the rest of the year. Only a few people casually skive off for January. The successful business owners who have managers in place. The semi retired. And the superstars whose success during the year grants them privilege - I'm looking at you Mike Hosking. And the other group are the lawyers, partly because courts close down. But while judges have nice summer holidays they're only allowed a week in Spring during the rest of the year. So the lawyers bugger off to their beautiful baches. And that's why lawyers were the most concerned at the dropping of the new Resource Management system this week with a 6 week submission period. It means they're going to have to work all summer. Like the rest of us. And that's why they're grumpy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An urban planner's giving the proposed Resource Management Act a big thumbs up, calling the reforms awesome and fantastic. The Government's confirmed the current RMA will be replaced by two pieces of legislation, one for the environment and one for planning. They'll be phased in by 2029. Independent urban planner and strategic development expert Bruce Weir told Andrew Dickens there will always be hiccups, but the changes are great. He says the compensation element of the changes could be a headache, however previous planning rules were frustrating and full of nonsense. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia's pioneering social media ban is casting ripples around the world. The new law sets a mandatory age limit of 16 or older for accounts on platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. Now countries like Malaysia and Denmark are following the Australian lead with similar approaches. AUT communications studies professor Patrick Usmar told Andrew Dickens enforcement will be difficult, but it should limit exposure to the thousands of ads kids had been seeing every week. He says parents now won't need to persuade their kids to get off it, and teachers won't need to monitor it as much, because they can just say it's the law now. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Supreme Court decision has finally settled the long-running battle over whether family carers should be paid. The ruling —brought by parents Christine Fleming and Peter Humphreys, who care for their severely disabled adult children— confirms family carers are entitled to pay. Employment lawyer Joe Williams told Andrew Dickens it's a monumental shift in how these workers are recognised and how the Government will need to respond. He says it brings them a minimum wage entitlement, holiday pay, and protections against unfair treatment. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast Wednesday the 10th of December 2025, the government's announced it's replacement of the RMA, independent urban planner and strategic development expert, Bruce Weir shares his thoughts. The Supreme Court's ruled parents caring for their severely disabled adult children will now be recognised as home-workers, employment lawyer Joe Williams, tells Andrew how big of a difference this will make to people's lives. Hundreds of thousands of under 16s in Australia will be kicked off their social media accounts from today, AUT communication studies academic Patrick Usmar tells Andrew whether or not New Zealand should follow suit. Plus, UK/Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey has the latest on a new report into the activities of a top British spy inside the IRA during The Troubles and a man who received four parking tickets when a disabled bay was painted around his car while he was away on holiday. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So today is the day the Australians lead the world with a social media ban for people under 16. Good luck with that. The kids who still want to be online will get around it. Because, you know, kids and computers. They can't speak the Queen's English, but they sure can speak computer. They'll VPN and forge and weasel their way through the same way we all got our hands on booze when we were underage. And the kids who'll actively skirt the law are either the ones who believe social media benefits their life in society, or they're hoping one day that they'll get some positive self-affirmation even though more often than not they're bullied, and of course, the bullies themselves, because bullying is fun for them. They're not going to pay attention to some words in black and white written by some old parliamentarians in a grand hall wearing their fancy clothes. And the kids aren't going to be thankful. You've taken away their town hall, their community centre, their pub. They're going to be resentful. And I reckon there's a lot of parents who think social media has rotted their kids' brains. Why? Well, they've gone socialist haven't they? So, it's virtue signalling and we all know how we feel about virtue signalling, even if the virtue is a good one. And speaking of which, I found the whole argy bargy between the B416 crew and the Prime Minister to be generally distasteful. It seemed like the parties were more concerned about who got the credit for the posturing rather than helping the kids themselves. But the message is out there and it's a good one. Keep your kid's social media usage as low as possible. You're the parent. Parent. So, my boys are in their 20s and they grew up with all of this. I remember asking them if they'd been cyber bullied on social media. Their reply was not really. If you're being hassled, you block the idiots. And turn the phone off. I was so proud. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hurricanes have revealed a $2 million loss is projected for the current financial year, after announcing a new leadership structure. Local developer Malcolm Gillies has stepped in to buy the Wellington Rugby Union's 50% stake in the Super Rugby franchise. NZ Rugby will also take a minority shareholding and bolster the 'Canes with loans. Interim CEO Tony Philp told Andrew Dickens rugby's had a difficult few years, but there's certainly opportunities at the club to settle the finances moving forward. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.