Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Thursday 17th of September 2026, the Business community not happy with National’s plan to bust up Foodstuffs, Business NZ Advocacy Director Catherine Beard explains. 

Auntie Anne’s and Carvel Ice Cream are opening their first NZ stores in Auckland this month, Kathan Parikh NZ Cinnabon franchise owner, tells Ryan why he's bringing the new chains into the country. 

The June quarter GDP number is out today, independent economist Cameron Bagrie shares his thoughts.

Plus, US Correspondent Mitch McCann has the latest on the Federal Bank's rate decision and Trump choosing not to back Saudi Arabia in Houthi violence. 

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Nicola's supermarket smash-up is not serious.  

She's playing a very risky political game and she knows it.  

Cost of living is the only game in town this election – win on the cost-of-living battle and you win the war.  

Nicola thinks by looking tough on supermarkets she'll earn the respect of the 'squeezed middle'.  

But, as I've said many times before, even if you wipe out all the so-called 'super profits' the supermarkets are making, you benefit by a few extra dollars per week.  

But there's a big "if" here. 

Our supermarkets are run very efficiently. Yes, they are dominant, too dominant, but that allows economies of scale in a long, thin country of five million people.  

Mess with that for political gain and you risk prices actually going up, not down.  

That is not my view. That is the view of the very report which Nicola relied on to make her grand pronouncement yesterday.  

In other words, this whole thing could end up costing us more than it saves us.  

Nobody knows for sure. No governments in the world have gone in with an axe and split up a live supermarket chain in real time. 

The very threat of it will put the willies up investors. Who's going to be investing in New Zealand's supermarket industry before the second half of 2027? 

That's how long a second report will take to answer those questions.  

And guess what, those risks, those 'scenarios', those best guesses on calculators by modellers will still be there in 12 months' time.  

At which point, National will shelve this idea. It won't happen.  

This isn't happening. It's not serious. It's politics. It's election year.  

Some are saying this is Nicola's Jacinda nuclear-free, oil and gas moment.  

But it's not. Jacinda actually did the ban. Nicola's not.  

Jacinda fired the gun, Nicola's just waving it around the supermarket for a photo-op. 

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There's a view changes to the fast-track system shouldn't be made carelessly.  

The amendments to the system working their way through Parliament will mean councils can claw back greater costs from developers.  

Independent urban planner and strategic development expert Bruce Weir says there probably is some room for developers to pay more.  

But he told Ryan Bridge the Government shouldn't be rash with changes.  

Weir says we don't want to put developers off as it can actually be quite difficult to get projects through.  

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It's being suggested New Zealand is still suffering from a minimum wage freeze 30 years ago, and ACT's pledge would do long term damage.  

The party wants to set up a training wage for under-20s in their first year, allowing them only 60% of the minimum wage – that's $14.37 an hour. 

ACT also wants to freeze the minimum wage for three years. 

E tū National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh told Ryan Bridge the wage is already well below what people need to survive on. 

She says the policy sends a message that some New Zealanders aren't worthy of earning enough to live. 

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Tax cuts are back on the campaign agenda.  

Nicola Willis dropped a wee hint to the BusinessNZ election conference yesterday. 

Bracket creep is hurting workers – as wages increase and you creep into a higher tax bracket, you pay more marginal tax. That's not fair.  

So, something might be done about it.  

I say "might" because there are caveats and they're big ones.  

National must be re-elected. Its coalition partners would need to agree. That was far from a done deal yesterday. 

And the Government must have the books back in surplus – the plan is 2029/30. 

But as I said yesterday, even then it's wafer-thin, and how many times have we been promised a surplus that doesn't eventuate?  

More times than I can count. It feels like a mirage.  

We'll find out more after the fiscal update at the end of the month. On October 11th, ACT will make its pitch for flatter tax rates.  

New Zealand First is working on a foreign investment tax incentive. The Nats are looking at changes to the R&D tax credit.  

So, tax cuts, rather just hikes, are on the election agenda.  

But not quite worth getting particularly excited about. 

Too many hoops to jump through, hills to climb, and water to go under bridges before this becomes a serious pitch voters should start thinking about and factoring into a decision before November. 

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast 2026, Children's Commissioner Jane Searle shares her thoughts on the damning report into the missing Phillips children. 

ACT’s small business policy is ruffling a few feathers, especially among the unions E tū National Secretary Rachel Mackintosh tells Ryan why the policy is problematic for workers.

A quick change has been made to laws that will affect fast-track developments, independent urban planner and strategic development expert Bruce Weir tells Ryan if the changes go far enough. 

Plus, UK/Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey has the latest on Nato fighter pilots have shooting down a drone that entered Lithuania's airspace overnight.

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The Children Commissioner's demanding action, with a multitude of failures in the search for the Marokopa children brought to light. 

A four-year manhunt for notorious fugitive Tom Phillips ended a year ago when he was shot dead by Police. 

An inquiry finds our public agencies overlooked concerns, delayed action and missed opportunities to find the children earlier and prevent their disappearance. 

It criticises the lack of information sharing, particularly across Oranga Tamariki and Police. 

Commissioner Jane Searle told Ryan Bridge this report makes it clear coordination needs to be better across government agencies. 

She says it's not easy, and cases like this are very complex, but it can be done. 

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Net migration is back on the rise as the brain drain eases. 

Stats NZ data shows the number of people moving here in the year to July outnumbered those leaving by 20,300. 

Annually, that net migration has risen almost 55%, with arrivals up 5% and departures down 4%. 

Immigration Expert Simon Laurent told Andrew Dickens that much as it has in the past, the security and safety of New Zealand is making it an attractive place to put down roots. 

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Surging global oil prices and bond yields could keep inflation higher than expected and force the Reserve Bank to raise the OCR faster than expected. 

Some economists now expect the Official Cash Rate to reach 4% before the end of the year. 

The Government says the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update —due out in two weeks— will try to reflect changes in borrowing costs. 

Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen told Andrew Dickens further conflict in the Middle East is pushing up oil prices, as fears grow about an AI bubble burst. 

He says both of these things are happening, amidst mounting concerns about government debt. 

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July's record tourism numbers are being seen as a reflection of investment finally paying off.   

Stats NZ data shows 256,600 overseas tourists arrived during the month, overtaking pre-Covid numbers from July 2019 by 0.4%. 

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell told Andrew Dickens the effort from local councils, regional tourism operators, and the Government is bearing fruit.  

She says July is usually a quiet time, so the big win is the 70% jump in business events that keep the likes of Rotorua afloat. 

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