Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

By Newstalk ZB

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.<

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The podcast currently has 9,118 episodes available.

Best of Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: Graeme Muller: Tech New Zealand CEO on Labour's AI policy, data centres
Tech New Zealand's hoping AI becomes a hot topic this election as Labour releases its policy on the new technology. If elected, the party wants stronger regulations on the use of copyright materials, private information, and the energy needed to power data centres. Labour also wants stronger oversight through an Office of AI and would establish an online safety regulator. Tech New Zealand chief executive Graeme Muller told Ryan Bridge they've been calling on politicians to focus on AI for the last two elections. He says this is a technology which will be more impactful than any that's come before, so it's good people are taking it seriously. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
September 10, 20264min
Number 2: John Glover: Queenstown Mayor on National's alternative to a bed tax
Queenstown's Mayor says National's alternative to a bed tax is better than nothing. The party's pledging to change how the International Visitor Levy is spent, pouring $100 million into conservation a year and $50 million for tourism. The rest would be dished out to councils based on how many international visitor nights they get. Queenstown would get $17.1 million in the first year, with John Glover telling Andrew Dickens it's not as good as a local accommodation levy, but there's currently very little else. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
September 08, 20264min
Number 3: Tania Tapsell: Rotorua Mayor: on the Government investing $5 million for local tourism
Overseas visitors are being encouraged to get out of the main centres so our tourist hotspots stay fully booked all year round. The Government's putting $5 million into six initiatives designed to entice travellers to visit the regions, ahead of the peak season. Rotorua NZ will lead a $995 thousand food campaign focused on Chinese visitors, as well as co-leading another aimed at Australian and US tourists. Mayor Tania Tapsell told Ryan Bridge the overseas focus is important, so businesses thrive in the quieter months when there's less domestic travel. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
September 07, 20264min
Number 4: Ryan Bridge: Standing still is not a strategy
We've got another report from another ratings agency, Moody's. They've taken a look at our credit, they've taken a look at our economy, much the same as the S&P one we spoke about last week. But here's a few things this country cannot afford to forget. We are a trading nation; we have a small population. Unless we sell stuff to the rest of the world, which the world then pays us for, we are a backwater. We are a money-go-round; we are a low-income poor cousin at the bottom of the Pacific. Dairy, meat, kiwifruit, honey, you name it. If we don't have strong export industries, we're basically buggered. We need more of them, of course. We have tourism, let's not whinge too much about the campervans. The world's cooked at times, and there'll be another Hormuz before long. Hell, the current Hormuz isn't over yet and that means we need storage for diesel, which we're doing, but we need more of, for gas, which Genesis is looking at, and Todd and Uncle Shane are trying to find, and data centres. I know they're controversial, I know people hate them, but they shouldn't be. If done well, and by well, I mean they wash their own faces, then tick tick. The other thing we desperately need are roads that don't wash out when it rains. Petrol taxes pay for that, so let's maybe not cut our nose off to spite our face in that regard. It's pretty simple really, we need to keep doing what we're doing, we need roads to get our stuff to port, we need oil to keep the country moving, we need ships coming and going and we need something new on the horizon always. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
September 07, 20262min
Number 5: Ryan Bridge: Books I've been reading lately
Look don't mind confessing you, dear listener, that I don't read many books. I do listen to them on audio, I do read on holiday, but who has the time to actually sit down and get stuck into hundreds of pages? People don't even watch full movies anymore. You can't do much when you're checking your phone on average one billion times per hour. But I did happen to stumble across one of the best reads I've had in a while a few weeks back in Barry Crump's 'A Good Keen Man'. It's unpretentious. It's funny. It's outrageous. It paints a picture of New Zealand and New Zealanders that I think most can relate to. We generally get along with each other. We generally call a spade a spade. We don't like people who bullshit or cheat. We like a fair fight. We love the bush, the beach, the beautiful place we get to call home every day. I've now finished two other Crump books, and I am getting through the audio version of some short stories. What an adventure. If you haven't read or listened to them, you should. They should be compulsory reading for anyone wanting to become a New Zealander. I'm aware it's an election period. There's a lot of fighting and whinging. But really, if you take a step back, look at the people around you – your neighbours, your mates, your country. We're not doing too bad. We've got a lot to be grateful for. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
September 03, 20262min