Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

On the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast Tuesday the 15th of September 2026, international visitor numbers are finally back above pre-Covid levels, Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell tells Andrew how the government's tourism push has helped. 

Migrant arrivals for the year were up 5%, immigration expert Simon Laurent shares his thoughts. 

Our debt situation might be catching up to us as the global bond markets start to get anxious, Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen explains. 

Plus, Australia Correspondent Donna Demaio has the latest on Pauline Hanson asked to apologise over nasty and divisive comments about First Nations Australians and the first confirmed case of bird flu, an endangered an Aussie sea lion.

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The past week has seen immigration policies come to the fore. 

New Zealand First is signalling a tougher immigration stance, longer waits for residency and citizenship, a referendum to cap new residency approvals at 20,000 a year, and a 30-year population plan tying migrant intake to infrastructure capacity.  

Labour is also tightening its settings, extending residency qualification to four years and promising a Government Policy Statement. 

But as economists like Bernard Hickey point out, these policies miss the real immigration pressure. 

New Zealand issues more than 230,000 temporary work visas annually, largely for lower-paid roles on our farms, in our kitchens, and even in our beauty salons. 

The temporary workers aren't here forever. But when they go, they're replaced but other temporary visa holders.  

This quarter of a million of temporary visa holders is still driving population growth, straining infrastructure, and suppressing wages.   

They come with problems that no-one is addressing. 

Not for the first time, politicians can't see the wood for the trees, and not for the first time, they then release policies that are primarily designed to get votes but not to address the issues. 

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A Russian drone has hit a train near the Ukraine-Poland border, moments after former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other top European security officials had been present.

No one died in the attack, and all passengers were safely evacuated.

Johnson had been passing along the same line on a different train, returning from a conference in Kyiv.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says there's plenty of speculation behind the motives of the strike, with Ukraine claiming Johnson's train was the intended target.

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The UK's GDP grew by 0.4 percent in July, surprising economists after no growth was predicted.

The economic growth was driven by several key sectors, and boosted by more businesses investing in AI and data centres.

Business correspondent Vicky Pryce says the World Cup also helped contribute to the growth, with more people spending money in pubs and restaurants over the July period.

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The City Rail Link finally launched over the weekend and it's set to bring extra foot traffic to Auckland CBD, but concerns have been raised over the potential risks.

National's promising a dedicated Auckland Transport police team if elected, pledging an extra $7 million per year through Budget 2027 to recruit the extra officers.

Auckland Councillor Alf Filipaina says this is the right move, and he's been consistent in saying that the community needs to be protected.

"We need to protect the community, in particular, within the CRL - along with the transport officers." 

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A clear standout - as Labour rolls out a raft of proposed changes to our KiwiSaver scheme.

The party's promising to lift the employer contribution rate to six percent by 2032 - if elected. 

Labour would also introduce compulsory employer contributions, even when employees have paused or reduced their own share. 

Finance Spokesperson Barbara Edmonds shares the latest with Ryan Bridge. 

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast 2026, Labour Finance Spokesperson Barbara Edmonds shares the details of Labour's KiwiSaver policy. 

Auckland Councillor shares his thoughts on the opening of the CRL and if we need to establish Auckland Transport Police to keep people safe. 

Business Correspondent Vicky Pryce has the latest on UK GDP, the European Central Bank raising rates and a look ahead to the UK rate decision. 

Plus, UK/ Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey has the latest on the UK national security adviser saying Europe must be ready to endure "real hardship" this winter if it is to keep up economic pressure on Russia and Reform UK receiving two £36m donations from British cryptocurrency billionaires. 

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There's a reason we talk a lot on this programme about bond markets, growth, central bank decisions and wars in far-away places.

There was, and probably still is, a school of thought that people either don't want, or don't understand, financial markets, currencies and economics.

I've always thought this was BS. It's why we focus on them a lot. They're important because they tell a story about where we've been and, more importantly, what's next.

People aren't stupid. Most of the correspondence, emails and letters I get are from people far smarter than me.

Though, that's not really saying much. More about me!

This week we're getting GDP for Q2. It'll show we've gone sideways to slightly forwards, if you listen to the bank economists.

Which is better than backwards, which is where they were picking we would go a few months ago.

This is StatsNZ data and is, of course, itself backwards-looking.

It'll show us where we've been.

For a look at where we're going, we had the PMI, that's the manufacturing index out Friday.

It was off slightly July-August, but still in expansion. And still above the long-term average.

What's more, it tells us that forward orders are looking good.

It bodes well for Q3.

As always, there's a reason to talk about the numbers. Not just the ones we'll hear about this week.

But the ones which give us clues about where we're heading next.

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The All Blacks are hoping to rally after back-to-back losses to the Springboks. 

But this time they're not on South African territory, instead the two sides are clashing on the neutral ground of Baltimore in the United States. 

But whether or not the All Blacks manage to tie the series, former Springbok Kevin Putt believes Dave Rennie has already got the tick. 

He told Ryan Bridge he's gone toe to toe with the 'Boks, so people can see he's doing his job okay. 

Putt says this is more of a test of New Zealand Rugby and what's happened over the last four years with their development of young players, and NZR may be found wanting. 

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A retired US politician believes the Iran war has no end in sight.

The Wall Street Journal reports top advisers told President Trump privately that his war would likely drag on through the rest of his term. 

It differs from his comments yesterday, in which he was telling supporters it'd end immediately after the November mid-terms. 

Former Defence Secretary and CIA Director Leon Panetta told Ryan Bridge that's unlikely. 

He says this is Trump claiming everything will be fine, but in reality, the war will go on.

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