Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Full Show Podcast: 09 October 2026

Transcript

Full Show Podcast: 09 October 2026 · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The issues, the interviews and the insight. Andrew Dickens on
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Early Edition with Spark for Business. Technology that keeps business moving.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Newstalk ZB.
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you. Welcome to the programme. Thank you
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: so much for choosing us. I'm Andrew Dickens in for
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: Ryan Bridge. And coming up over the next hour, Labour's
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: come up with new aviation rules. But might there be
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: unexpected consequences? Blanderslow 1 is here this weekend. We're going
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: to talk to the boss of Eden Park. and ask
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: if the big ground is ready for the big game.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: We've got drug testing for people on the dole as
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: a proposal from National. We'll let the Greens have a
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: moan about that just before six. We've got Gavin Gray
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: from the UK as a spy appears from court, and
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: also correspondents from right around New Zealand. And news as
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: it breaks, and you can have your say on the text.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: Small charge does apply.
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: 92-92.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: It's seven after five. All right, well, it's Friday, and
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: it is the 9th of October in shock horror out
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: of Tennessee. Death row inmate Krista Pike is up and walking.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: While in hospital after last week's botched attempt to execute her,
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: her lawyers say 36 hours ago, she was actually declared
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: brain dead. But on Tuesday, to the shock of everyone.
• 1:10
  Speaker 4: Including me, including her team, and including the medical team,
• 1:13
  Speaker 4: Krista woke up and began talking.
• 1:15
  Speaker 5: Wow.
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: The courts ordered the state of Tennessee to preserve all
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: evidence related to the failed execution. Now to the UK,
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: where a High Court judge says Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Thames
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: Valley Police agree that the search warrants they used to
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: raid two of his properties were unlawful.
• 1:32
  Speaker 6: It's not actually that unusual in these kind of cases.
• 1:41
  Speaker 6: common for it to be agreed between the defence and
• 1:43
  Speaker 6: the police that the search warrant should be quashed. The
• 1:46
  Speaker 6: real question is what happens next to the material.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, the criminal investigation is still ongoing. The court
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: will decide whether police can keep the evidence seized. And finally,
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: the UK meets Germany. Frederik Metz and Andy Burnham have
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: met in Berlin. Burnham says he's looking forward to next
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: month's UK EU summit.
• 2:05
  Speaker 7: I am very committed to securing the deeper cooperation as
• 2:10
  Speaker 7: a result of this summit and seeing if we can
• 2:13
  Speaker 7: bring the UK closer to Europe, particularly in the interests
• 2:17
  Speaker 7: of economic growth.
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: And that's the agenda to 9 after 5.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: Before the news breaks, hear it first. Andrew Dickens on
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: early edition with Spark for Business, technology that keeps business moving.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: News Talk ZB.
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: Well, here we go again. It may not be the
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: greatest rivalry, but it's certainly an old foe. This weekend,
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: the All Blacks play the Wallabies. Now, this is a
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: game that goes back to the very first one, back
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: in 1903 at the SCG. A game, by the way,
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: we won well in front of 30,000 people. It's for
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: the Bledisloe Cup. The Bledisloe Cup came into the equation
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: back in 1932, so it's nearly 100 years old. And
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: there have been so many ding-dongs through the years, including
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: the first test at Sydney's Olympic Stadium in the year
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: 2000 in front of 109,000 people, the biggest rugby crowd ever.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: It was known as the game of the century. Constant
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: lead changes, brilliant attacking rugby from both sides. John Olamu
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: tiptoeing like a rhinoceros down the sideline. We won that
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: one as well, 39-35. This is a great rivalry. And yet,
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: ticket sales were slow. There was a final burst this
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: week filling the place, but slow, surprisingly slow, especially when
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: you compare it with the Warriors. Their failed crack at
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: the NRL final at Eden Park sold out in seconds,
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: but not the rugby. And it's led some people this
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: week to speculate that League and the Warriors are our
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: national game, the biggest brand, and not rugby, which is
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: kind of true, and yet not. But what I do
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: suspect is is the way Eden Park sold slowly this
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: week is that there's something wrong with rugby. And it's
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: not just the mandarins that run the game, but also us,
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: the fans. Have we become blasé about that incredible spectacle
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: that they deliver every year? Go the All Blacks. And,
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: you know, I say that about rugby, even though this
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: week we found out that the MPC is having a
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: record season at the stadiums and on the telly. MPC's
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: going well. 300,000 people got off their chuffs and went
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: to a game. Isn't that good? So rugby's good down there, but,
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: you know, why did this test sell so slowly? What's
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: your thoughts? And is League the new national game versus rugby?
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: Nick Soutner's coming up in about 10 minutes. Oh, by
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: the way, I note that the Sydney test, which is
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: in a week or so's time, that's selling really, really well.
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: The Aussies are really up for this game. But next,
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: we're going to talk about the aviation rules that Labour
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: would like to change, and there are some that say
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: that they're... But at the same time, there's some bad
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: stuff in there. John Weeks, an aviation expert, is next.
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: The Early Edition full show podcast on iHeartRadio, powered by
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: Newstalk ZB. Hear it first. Andrew Dickens on Early Edition
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: with Spark for Business, technology that keeps business moving.
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: Newstalk ZB. Yes, good morning to you. It's 13 minutes
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: after five. Labor say they have a plan to tackle
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: unfair plane ticket costs. So they're promising to force the
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: airlines to be more upfront about the full cost of
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: a ticket. So instead of waiting to hit you with
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: hidden ends until the very end, hidden fees until the
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: very end, you know about things right up front. They
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: also reckon customers should get an automatic refund if your
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: flight gets cancelled. So John Weeks is New Zealand Herald's
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: aviation journalist and has got up early for us this morning.
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, John.
• 5:33
  Speaker 8: Good morning, Andrew.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: So was there a problem here that needed fixing?
• 5:38
  Speaker 8: Well, Consumer Indeed certainly thought so because they've been campaigning
• 5:42
  Speaker 8: on some quite similar issues for several months, they have
• 5:45
  Speaker 8: effectively argued that people just don't always get told as
• 5:51
  Speaker 8: transparently as they should. If their flight is cancelled or delayed,
• 5:57
  Speaker 8: they say it's important for people to know what their
• 6:00
  Speaker 8: rights are. And there is a bit of a sort
• 6:03
  Speaker 8: of hodgepodge of different possibly applicable rules, you know, the
• 6:08
  Speaker 8: Consumer Guarantees Act, covers some of these issues. In some cases,
• 6:15
  Speaker 8: if an airline rejects your claim or you're not satisfied
• 6:19
  Speaker 8: with its response, Consumer Insights says you can lodge a
• 6:23
  Speaker 8: claim at the Dispute Tribunal. And then if you think
• 6:26
  Speaker 8: you've been misled, you can complain to the Commerce Commission.
• 6:29
  Speaker 8: And the ComCom, the one that sometimes has the teeth,
• 6:35
  Speaker 8: can potentially prosecute an airline in extreme cases.
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: Other than being charged for a carry-on, I've never hit
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: these hidden fees. What are these hidden fees that you're
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: talking about?
• 6:45
  Speaker 8: Well, previously, Air New Zealand some time ago was taken
• 6:50
  Speaker 8: a call by the Commerce Commission. The person I was
• 6:52
  Speaker 8: talking to yesterday said that this was some time ago,
• 6:55
  Speaker 8: and the various other fees that airlines at times have
• 7:01
  Speaker 8: to pay include landing system costs. Air New Zealand, when
• 7:06
  Speaker 8: we went to them yesterday, comments said that it already
• 7:10
  Speaker 8: does provide its fees up front. It says it doesn't
• 7:15
  Speaker 8: use search history to manipulate the fares that you will
• 7:21
  Speaker 8: be asked to pay. And they say that when you
• 7:24
  Speaker 8: get the quoted price, that includes Okay. But, yeah.
• 7:31
  Speaker 7: Yeah, right.
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: So, of course, Labour's saying you should get an automatic
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: refund if your flight gets cancelled. A lot of people
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: are saying, well, the downside of that is wouldn't you
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: rather just have them rebook your flight?
• 7:43
  Speaker 8: Exactly. In some circumstances, you know, you might be on
• 7:46
  Speaker 8: your way from... Christchurch to Auckland for a wedding. You've
• 7:49
  Speaker 8: got to be there at a certain time. You've made
• 7:52
  Speaker 8: those plans and you have your itinerary ready and then
• 7:56
  Speaker 8: the flight is cancelled for whatever reason, whether it's within
• 7:59
  Speaker 8: the airline's control, such as pilot sickness or crew being unavailable,
• 8:06
  Speaker 8: or whether it's beyond their control, such as a freak
• 8:10
  Speaker 8: weather event or something of that nature. You would.
• 8:15
  Speaker 8: Rather probably just say, hey, get me on the next flight.
• 8:19
  Speaker 8: I don't necessarily want a refund, but it will vary
• 8:21
  Speaker 8: from person to person.
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: If the refund was offered automatically, but giving you the
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: option to opt out and demand a rebooking, that would
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: be a better, a more elegant solution, wouldn't it?
• 8:33
  Speaker 8: Well, that's what consumers in Z said. They say that
• 8:37
  Speaker 8: any policy in this area should really put the flyer
• 8:41
  Speaker 8: first in the sense that it should really be the
• 8:43
  Speaker 8: consumer's choice in most scenarios. How exactly that would play
• 8:49
  Speaker 8: out practically, what sort of protocols would be in place
• 8:53
  Speaker 8: to enshrine that is yet to be seen.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: Good stuff, John Weeks. I thank you for getting up.
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: John Weeks is the Herald's aviation journalist and this is
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: Newstalk ZB. I had some mates who were over on
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: the Sunshine Coast for five weeks and they were flying
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: out on an Air New Zealand flight from a regional
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: airport to New Zealand and that got cancelled. Then Air
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: New Zealand then turned around. This happened a week ago
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: And Eddington turned around and said, OK, we'll give you
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: another flight, but you've got to go to Brisbane, which was,
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: you know, they had to hire a car to get
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: all the way down to Brisbane to get all the
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: way home. And they were not happy with our national carrier.
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: It is 18 minutes after five. Graham says, Andrew, 250
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: bucks a ticket might have had some effect on that
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: Eden Park game. Jules says if the Eden Park test
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: had sold quickly and was only half full as compared
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: to a slow sell and full, that would be more
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: of a story. And that's a very good thing. And
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: people are saying the Blender show was basically sold out
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: in August, wasn't it? Couldn't buy anything but singles or
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: obstructive view seats. Now, what happened this week is that
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: they had a final tranche of tickets, and all of
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: them were as low as $ 70. We're going to talk
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: to Nick Sautner. is the CEO of Eden Park, next
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: as the big game comes upon us here at Newstalk ZB,
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: 18 after 5.
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: The early edition full show podcast on iHeartRadio, powered by
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: Newstalk ZB. The first word on the news of the day.
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: Early edition with Andrew Dickens and Spark for Business. Technology
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: that keeps business moving. Newstalk ZB.
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: 5.20, All Blacks Wallabies, 7pm Saturday night. First game of
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: the Bledisloe Cup. Damian McKenzie's back at 10. Richie Mwanga
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: and Ruben Love both injured. Bowdoin Barrett's going to start
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: at fullback. Will Jordan and Leroy Carter are going to
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: be on the wings.
• 10:39
  Speaker 9: We named Richie on Monday to the squad, which is disappointing.
• 10:42
  Speaker 9: Disappointing for him and disappointing for the group. I mean,
• 10:45
  Speaker 9: Damien's trained a lot there for us. Bowdoin's predominantly trained
• 10:49
  Speaker 9: at 15 when we were in Africa. Both those players
• 10:53
  Speaker 9: are interchangeable. They both spend a lot of time in
• 10:54
  Speaker 9: the backfield.
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: And the man who's hosting the big event from the
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: big game, the National Stadium, Eden Park, Nick Seltner, CEO. Nick, g'day.
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: Good morning, Andrew. Thanks for your time.
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: Is it going to be a biggie? I mean, ticket sales,
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: as I mentioned, were slow at first, but there was
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: a massive final demand this week. But this is going
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: to be a big old game?
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: There's nothing like a sold-out atmosphere for the All Blacks
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: at Eden Park. We're looking forward to welcoming the All
• 11:17
  Speaker 4: Blacks back to the fortress. And they've got a phenomenal
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: record at our national stadium. They haven't lost against the
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: Wallabies since 1986, and we want to make sure that
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: the winning streak continues.
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: Last time the All Blacks lost at your park was
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: July 1994, this fortress thing. Is it an albatross around
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: your neck?
• 11:38
  Speaker 4: Certainly not. I think when teams come to play at
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: Eden Park, they come to play the All Blacks or
• 11:43
  Speaker 4: the Black Ferns, but they also come to play Eden Park.
• 11:46
  Speaker 4: There's 125 years of history and tradition. And when the
• 11:50
  Speaker 4: bus arrives, they look into Jonah's eyes. They know they're
• 11:54
  Speaker 4: going to be in for another loss.
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: No new graffiti art this week?
• 11:59
  Speaker 4: Our street art was added last week with our Warriors installation.
• 12:04
  Speaker 4: We've already got All Blacks content. It's just going to
• 12:07
  Speaker 4: be a huge celebration of the All Blacks returning to
• 12:11
  Speaker 4: their home.
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: Should we read anything into the fact that the Warriors
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: game sold out lickety split, whereas the All Blacks have
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: been a slow burn?
• 12:19
  Speaker 4: The Warriors had an amazing season, and there's space for
• 12:23
  Speaker 4: both league and union in this country. The fandom of
• 12:26
  Speaker 4: both codes is something that we're excited to bring to
• 12:30
  Speaker 4: our national stadium, and working with both hires, I've got
• 12:33
  Speaker 4: to acknowledge Steve Lancaster. It's been a delight to work
• 12:35
  Speaker 4: with him and his team. Under his new leadership, I
• 12:38
  Speaker 4: think we're going to see a real change in where
• 12:40
  Speaker 4: rugby's heading.
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: And what do you reckon is going to change?
• 12:44
  Speaker 4: Well, I mean, it's a fan focus. You've seen with Steve,
• 12:49
  Speaker 4: he's going out, he's listing. There will be change, and
• 12:53
  Speaker 4: we're looking forward to seeing that. Eden Park's got a
• 12:56
  Speaker 4: long tradition. The All Blacks are part of our DNA,
• 12:59
  Speaker 4: and we look forward to continuing into whether it be
• 13:01
  Speaker 4: Lion Series or, again, the greatest rivalry when it comes
• 13:05
  Speaker 4: to New Zealand.
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so good, so good. Last time I went to
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: a Wallabies game at Eden Park, I remember when they
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: started playing Ice House and Great Southern Land on the
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: tannoy system around the whole ground and the whole thing's
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: throbbing away to this song. Honestly, the hairs went up
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: on the back of my neck, you know.
• 13:20
  Speaker 4: So there's nothing like an all-black sold-out game at Eden Park,
• 13:25
  Speaker 4: bilingual national anthem and a harker. It's one of those
• 13:27
  Speaker 4: bucket list items. It's open at 5 o'clock, CRL open,
• 13:33
  Speaker 4: public transport is part of your ticket. Just make sure
• 13:36
  Speaker 4: that fans get there early and experience something special.
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: Look, I don't want to really mention it because you've
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: been here so long, but there's a touch of the
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: Aussie in you, so where are you standing?
• 13:45
  Speaker 4: Well, as you know, I've got three beautiful Kiwi children.
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: I've got a Kiwi passport. The All Blacks are great
• 13:51
  Speaker 4: for business, and I'm looking forward to seeing the All
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: Blacks have another victory.
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: You're a good man. You've got a good ground, and
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: I thank you so much for your time today. Nick
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: Soutner from Eden Park. He is the CEO. It is
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: 19 minutes after five. News Talk CB. I'm Andrew Dickinson
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: for Ryan Bridge. Now, yesterday I had to chuckle after
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: I interviewed Mr Abercrombie from the PPTA, who grudgingly accepted
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: that improvements to the education sector by the government is
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: a factor in teacher registrations being up 40% this year.
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: He had a wasp in his mouth saying, yeah, yeah, yeah,
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: it's helped. Mr. Abercrombie, other industry advocates, and the Labour-led
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: opposition have been dead set against many of the changes
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: that Erica Stanford's brought in, but now they are slowly
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: admitting that things are getting better. And it makes you
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: wonder why they were so negative from the get-go. And
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: of course, we can only put this sort of thing
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: down to tribalism. If it's an idea from the right,
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: it has to be evil and wrong and bad for
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: the kids and the vulnerable. Now, I say this about
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: the left, but it's also a weakness for the right.
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: The coalition spent the first year merrily throwing out any
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: initiatives that came from the previous government, whether it was
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: good or not. The us-good-them-bad narrative is childish and expensive
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: and slowing us down. Three Waters, sorry, but Three Waters
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: was thrown out, but it's been replaced with almost the
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: same thing. The only difference being it's voluntary. And there's
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: no governance. The upshot is that we're even further behind
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: in finding funds to fix our water supply, which is
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: the main problem. We need to find the money. I
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: could go on. The cancelled ferries when the problem was
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: actually the gold-plated ports. It's cost us time and money. Now,
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: in the leaders debate the other day, Chris Hipkins' big
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: mistake was to threaten to throw out an hour of
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: tuition of the basics if they get in. A policy
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: that is very popular with parents. And even Mr Abercrombie
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: from the PPTA yesterday said it works. So why would
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: Mr Hipkins want to throw out something that works? Oh,
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: it's because it was an idea from the right. These
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: flip-flops from both sides are exhausting. And when National won
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: the last election, one phrase stuck in my mind. They said, ah,
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: the adults are back. Well, when is that actually going
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: to happen?
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: News Talk ZB.
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: Now it's election season. Everyone's coming out with new ideas.
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: Nationals come out with a new plan for the beneficiaries.
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: The problem being it's not so new. The plan is
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: to randomly drug test those on the dole. They also
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: want to start slashing benefits for those who have been
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: on it for two out of the last three years.
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: So Labour and the Greens have labelled this thing as
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: cruel and deplorable. Mr Winston Peters has come out and
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: said it borders on fascist. Axe's leader loves it, and
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: he came up with a great line. He said, people
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: should have to work for their drugs. I saw a
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: comment from a lefty online saying, well, National must be
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: getting scared about losing the election because they're back to
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: their tried and true Benny bashing with five weeks to go.
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: Can I just remind you that the key government ran
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: a trial on this from 2013 to 2015, and it
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: was proven to be a complete waste of time and money.
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: So we've done this before, and now they want to
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: do it again. So we'll talk about this with Ricardo
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: Menendez-Marge from the Greens just before 6 o'clock today. And
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: I'm also going to run you through the latest taxpayer
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: couriers poll, which has just come out. And that's good
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: news for the government bloc. Yes, there's almost no room
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: between Labour and National. I mean, they're just polling at
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: exactly the same. And it's historical lows, well under the 30.
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: But at the same time, because of a slight collapse
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: in opportunity down to 4.8%, There is no left block,
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: and the right block will win. I'll run you through
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: the numbers properly a little bit later on in the show.
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: We're going to go right around the country with our correspondents.
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: We've got Gavin Gray from the UK, where they're trying
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: a spy right now. And news is next. It's now.
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: This is Early Edition. I'm Andrew Dickens. This is Newstalk ZB.
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: The Early Edition full show podcast on iHeartRadio, powered by
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: Newstalk ZB. Get ahead of the headlines on Early Edition
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: with Andrew Dickens and Spark for Business, technology that keeps
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: business moving. News Talk ZB.
• 18:07
  Speaker 10: Welcome back.
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: It is now 23 minutes to 6. Jake was listening
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: to my editorial and said, Andrew, your take on Three
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: Waters missed a crucial point too, in fact. Labour's plan
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: had our assets being confiscated. Well, you still kind of
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: own them as a taxpayer rather than a ratepayer. And
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: also the power of veto given to Maoris, and it
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: was shocking. And I thank you, Jake, for your text,
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: except unfortunately you're wrong. There was no power of veto
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: for the Maori. Nobody had a power of veto. Most
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: of the decision-making thresholds needed a supermajority of 75%. There
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: was no unilateral Maori or iwi veto. But then again,
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: the misinformation around Three Waters was massive. But there we go.
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: All I care about is I want to find some money.
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: to actually fix the water, and that is on hold. Now,
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: in lighter news, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: awarded to a Canadian poet and SAS called Anne Carson.
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: Don't worry, I've never heard of her either, at all.
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: She gets 12 million Swedish krona. That's 2.1 million bucks.
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: Good work if you can get it. Her first book,
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: Eros the Bittersweet, was published in 1986, an exploration of
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: desire and the ancient Greek tradition. Best known work is
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: Autobiography of Red, a 1998 novel where Geryon, a red-winged monster,
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: is killed by Heracles, and she uses the story as
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: some sort of parable of a modern teenage boy navigating
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: heartbreak and desire. All books I've never read, and actually,
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: I'm not quite sure if I should, but maybe I should.
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: Should I go to the library and get them? I
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: don't think it's quite my cup of tea. Love the library.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: Currently banging through the classics I read as a kid.
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: I'm currently reading Gabriel Garcia Miquez's 100 Years of Solitude.
• 19:50
  Speaker 11: It's brilliant.
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: By the way, Arnold Schwarzenegger is about to publish a
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: book as well. It's called The Protector, about a Catholic
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: priest and a military veteran who's taken the helm at
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: a parish plagued by criminals threatening the community he's vowed
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: to protect. Arnold, you'll be back with a book. 22
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: to 6. Around the country we go, Callum Proctor from Dunedin. Hello, Callum. Morning, Andrew.
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: And how's the hospital build going? The story that has been,
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: it never stops giving.
• 20:22
  Speaker 10: Well, we have a major milestone. The new outpatient hospital
• 20:25
  Speaker 10: building's about to open here. Health New Zealand revealing the
• 20:28
  Speaker 10: doors will open on Monday to the new five-storey facility. So,
• 20:32
  Speaker 10: you know, this is the outpatient building. Across the road, meanwhile,
• 20:35
  Speaker 10: construction continues on the inpatient building. So that's ongoing construction.
• 20:39
  Speaker 10: for the next few years.
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: But a big day on Monday.
• 20:42
  Speaker 10: Director of Operations Craig Ashton says extensive planning and staff
• 20:45
  Speaker 10: preparation has taken place to ensure that this new facility
• 20:49
  Speaker 10: is ready to safely welcome its first patients. Health NZ
• 20:53
  Speaker 10: is saying patients with appointments from Monday will have been
• 20:56
  Speaker 10: advised if their clinic or service has been moved to
• 21:00
  Speaker 10: the new building.
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: Fantastic. It's Dunedin CRL and the relief when it finally
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: opens will be massive. How's your weather?
• 21:07
  Speaker 10: Fine today, but a low cloud morning and evening, but
• 21:09
  Speaker 10: otherwise good. Nor'easterly, 16 the high today.
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: Out of Christchurch, Claire Stewart, good morning to you.
• 21:13
  Speaker 12: Good morning.
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: What the hay? The dirt bike thing, the Supercross event
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: at the stadium's been cancelled.
• 21:20
  Speaker 13: Yeah, the Supercross event, which was due to turn the
• 21:22
  Speaker 13: new stadium into a dirt bike track. Not sure how
• 21:24
  Speaker 13: the groundsman felt about it. It has indeed been cancelled.
• 21:28
  Speaker 13: The FIM World Supercross Championship was meant to come here
• 21:31
  Speaker 13: to New Zealand to debut at 1NZ Stadium in December 2017.
• 21:34
  Speaker 13: That was after events in six other countries, but the
• 21:37
  Speaker 13: championship has cancelled the rest of the 2026 season. The
• 21:41
  Speaker 13: reason for that is effectively money. They're continuing to talk
• 21:44
  Speaker 13: with investors about the championship's future. Now, Venues Ototahi says
• 21:48
  Speaker 13: this is very disappointing, but tickets had not yet gone
• 21:51
  Speaker 13: on sale to the general public. There were some premium
• 21:54
  Speaker 13: hospitality guests already booked in. They'll be refunded. And the
• 21:58
  Speaker 13: CEO says despite the disappointment, there is a strong pipeline
• 22:01
  Speaker 13: of events planned for the new stadium.
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: So not your fault, their fault, so sad, but a
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: relief for the stadium in a certain way. How's the weather?
• 22:10
  Speaker 13: Yes, cloudy with a bit of drizzle possible, then fine
• 22:12
  Speaker 13: breaks developing towards midday, a bit cloudy again for the evening.
• 22:15
  Speaker 13: The high will be 16.
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: And I thank you, Max Toll out of Wellington. Hello.
• 22:19
  Speaker 11: Good morning.
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: Welcome to the 1960s. You've got a measles case in Wellington.
• 22:24
  Speaker 11: Yeah, we've had a few in recent months, so it
• 22:26
  Speaker 11: is more of the same messaging, but equally important, highly contagious.
• 22:29
  Speaker 11: So look out for symptoms, cough, runny nose, red eyes,
• 22:33
  Speaker 11: a rash that usually starts on the face or better yet,
• 22:36
  Speaker 11: get vaccinated. This case is linked to recent international travel.
• 22:40
  Speaker 11: There are several locations to look at online, including the
• 22:43
  Speaker 11: Salvation Army in Upper Hutt, Romans Kitchen, others in Wairarapa
• 22:47
  Speaker 11: and Lower Hutt health authorities. Obviously scrambling to determine how
• 22:52
  Speaker 11: far and wide this may have spread.
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: All right, how's your weather?
• 22:57
  Speaker 11: Some early cloud clearing to fine with South Easterlies warmer today,
• 23:00
  Speaker 11: a high of 19 in the city.
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: And I thank you. Now to Auckland we go with
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: Niva Retimana. Good morning to you.
• 23:05
  Speaker 12: Good morning.
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: So a big ban on shellfish from November.
• 23:09
  Speaker 5: Yep, that's right. Now this ban is on collecting the shellfish,
• 23:13
  Speaker 5: mussels from Auckland... and Coromandel's Rockpools and also the Intertidal Zone.
• 23:18
  Speaker 5: So this follows earlier bans on specific parts of the
• 23:21
  Speaker 5: country like Whangaparoa and Protect Piha Rockpool spokesperson, that's Luella Bartlett.
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: She's come out.
• 23:28
  Speaker 5: She says, look, this is great news. It'll mean that
• 23:30
  Speaker 5: people will be able to continue exploring that marine area with,
• 23:34
  Speaker 5: you know, kids and blah, blah, blah. And also Omaha
• 23:37
  Speaker 5: local Mary Coop, says that, you know, it just followed
• 23:40
  Speaker 5: a lot of advocacy. It started with one voice and
• 23:43
  Speaker 5: they're happy that, you know, it just grew and grew
• 23:44
  Speaker 5: and grew.
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: It's a bit of short-term pain for some long-term gain
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: to let the Kaimoana actually recover. How's the weather? Very right.
• 23:52
  Speaker 5: Mainly fine, some cloud late morning and afternoon, but Andrew, 21.
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: Summer is here.
• 23:57
  Speaker 5: 21 the high.
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: I saw that all over social media yesterday. Everyone's going,
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: good Lord, summer suddenly arrived in Auckland yesterday.
• 24:02
  Speaker 7: Now.
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: Let's talk about the election. It's a big thing. A
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: couple of things about the election. Stats New Zealand reckons
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: there's a million New Zealanders living overseas and offshore voter
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: enrolments are rising. Currently at 104,000 odd. That's up 60%
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: compared to the election in 2023. It is the highest
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: number of enrolments ever seen from overseas.
• 24:27
  Speaker 8: It's 100,000.
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: And there's an article by Fox Meyer in the newsroom saying,
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: which says, well, basically a city's worth of New Zealanders
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: left New Zealand over the past three years, dissatisfied with
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: the current government, dissatisfied with the state of New Zealand.
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: And he writes, will they have a bearing on the election? Well,
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: we'll find out a bit later on. And yes, the
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: latest taxpayer courier poll is out. Government bloc, that's National
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: Act of New Zealand First, projected at 65 seats. Opposition bloc, Labour,
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: Green and Te Parti, 55 seats. Here's the thing, top...
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: At 4.8 under the threshold, no seats for them. So
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: National and Labour locked in a tight race. 28.5 placed 28.2.
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: They're basically at the same level. But a good figure
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: for Winston Peters and New Zealand First at 12%. And
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: that is what solidifies a working majority for the incumbent
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: centre-right coalition if the election was held today. But we
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: all know it's still five weeks away. It is 16
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: to 6. It's Newstalk ZB.
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: International Correspondence with NZI Insurance. Peace of mind for New
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: Zealand business.
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: Yes, coming up 13 minutes to six. We're joined by
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: Gavin Gray out of the UK. Morning to you, Gavin. Now,
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: could you run me through what this decision about Andrew
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: Mountbatten wins as the rate of his homes, what it
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: actually means?
• 25:43
  Speaker 14: Well, it's quite complicated and it seems to be a
• 25:46
  Speaker 14: little bit of a technical thing, but it does not
• 25:48
  Speaker 14: mean that his court victory, which has only just been
• 25:51
  Speaker 14: announced in the last few minutes, means that there is
• 25:53
  Speaker 14: an end to the investigation or indeed that the police
• 25:56
  Speaker 14: immediately have to hand stuff back. So what Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
• 26:01
  Speaker 14: had done, of course, formerly Prince Andrew, is that he
• 26:04
  Speaker 14: had questioned the legal search warrants that were needed in
• 26:09
  Speaker 14: order to be able to search his homes, both the
• 26:11
  Speaker 14: new one that he had in Sandringham, the east of England,
• 26:14
  Speaker 14: within the royal estate there, but also his former home,
• 26:18
  Speaker 14: Royal Lodge, near Windsor Castle. Now, he is saying the
• 26:23
  Speaker 14: police force acted incorrectly using the incorrect search warrants. And
• 26:28
  Speaker 14: it appears, just in the last few minutes, that the
• 26:30
  Speaker 14: High Court judge's have agreed that the search warrants had
• 26:33
  Speaker 14: been unlawful. Now, this is because this is where it
• 26:37
  Speaker 14: gets technical. They were supposed to be applying under two
• 26:43
  Speaker 14: particular sections of the law, the Criminal Evidence Act of 1984,
• 26:48
  Speaker 14: They were applying under sections eight and nine. They were
• 26:51
  Speaker 14: told they didn't need nine. Now this court has ruled. Yeah,
• 26:54
  Speaker 14: you should have had nine instead of eight. So that's
• 26:57
  Speaker 14: what it is. But they are saying they don't have
• 26:59
  Speaker 14: to hand any of his property back yet because they
• 27:02
  Speaker 14: are potentially going to appeal. In the meantime, this is
• 27:05
  Speaker 14: a victory for him. But what does it look like?
• 27:07
  Speaker 14: What does it look like that he's now using somebody's money,
• 27:10
  Speaker 14: maybe his own, to appeal this and to try and
• 27:13
  Speaker 14: embarrass the police through the courts?
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely. Okay, meanwhile, former foes on the battlefield, the
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: UK and Germany, are now friends and they're talking about
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: defence and security partnerships.
• 27:23
  Speaker 14: Yes, I should also add, of course, that Prince Andrew
• 27:25
  Speaker 14: denies any wrongdoing, so I should make that clear. Yes,
• 27:29
  Speaker 14: world news, and Andy Burnham has met his counterpart in Germany,
• 27:35
  Speaker 14: and the two were really talking about how best to
• 27:39
  Speaker 14: move forward together. Now, plenty of Brexiteers are saying, oh
• 27:43
  Speaker 14: my goodness, this is the start of him trying to
• 27:45
  Speaker 14: get us back into the EU. He's saying, well, no,
• 27:48
  Speaker 14: what we were looking at today is defence and security partnerships.
• 27:51
  Speaker 14: He said both Germany and the UK are facing the
• 27:54
  Speaker 14: same potential hybrid attacks on a regular basis. And that
• 27:59
  Speaker 14: does include drones flying over sensitive area and so forth.
• 28:04
  Speaker 14: So they are formally ratifying a Kensington Treaty, a partnership
• 28:07
  Speaker 14: committing both countries to tackle hostile activity, to share more information.
• 28:12
  Speaker 14: and to improve security in Europe. So I don't think
• 28:16
  Speaker 14: many people would complain about that, but we're already hearing
• 28:19
  Speaker 14: the mute music that this could be another way of
• 28:21
  Speaker 14: much closer cooperation between Germany and the EU and the UK.
• 28:27
  Speaker 14: And that will really upset some thinking, are we about
• 28:30
  Speaker 14: to re-enter the EU without another referendum needed?
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, very good point. And I thank you so much,
• 28:36
  Speaker 2: Gavin Gray from the UK News. So ZB is 11
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: to 6. So obviously the Greens are not happy with
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: National's benefit policy and the plan is to randomly drug
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: test those on the dole. A first failed test will
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: be recorded.
• 28:50
  Speaker 13: A second failed test will trigger a clinical alcohol and
• 28:55
  Speaker 13: drug assessment.
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: And so actually if you need to get drug and
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: addiction support services in order to be work.
• 29:00
  Speaker 4: Ready, that's another way in which we're preparing you for
• 29:02
  Speaker 4: that opportunity.
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: And the current government, also if they become the next government,
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: want to start slashing benefits for those who have been
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: on it for two out of the last three years.
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: Ricardo Menendez-March is the social development spokesperson for the Greens
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: and joins me now. Good morning to you, Ricardo.
• 29:16
  Speaker 8: Good morning.
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: So what's so wrong about this? Use drugs at work,
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: get fired.
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: Oh, look, Winston even called it borderland fascist. But the
• 29:25
  Speaker 3: issue with this is that drug testing beneficiaries does not
• 29:28
  Speaker 3: create jobs. The reason why unemployment is high is not
• 29:31
  Speaker 3: because beneficiaries may or may not be using substances, right?
• 29:34
  Speaker 3: The only thing that this will create is jobs in
• 29:37
  Speaker 3: the drug testing industry.
• 29:39
  Speaker 8: It will not.
• 29:40
  Speaker 3: address the unemployment crisis that we have right now. And
• 29:44
  Speaker 3: if a beneficiary has issues with substance abuse, what they
• 29:47
  Speaker 3: need is rehabilitation support, not to be left out on
• 29:50
  Speaker 3: the street.
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: I can agree with all of that, but if they
• 29:53
  Speaker 2: also want to be given some money, it's not an entitlement.
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: They have to actually do something for it. And if
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: the rule is don't take drugs, why not?
• 30:04
  Speaker 3: Most beneficiaries are already looking for work. Drug testing beneficiaries
• 30:07
  Speaker 3: randomly will not actually address any of these fundamental issues.
• 30:11
  Speaker 3: It will actually cost the taxpayer money. These drug test
• 30:14
  Speaker 3: equipments are expensive. And again, this just feels like punching
• 30:18
  Speaker 3: down desperate tactics by the National Party. Even New Zealand
• 30:21
  Speaker 3: First knows that this is actually nonsense because it will
• 30:24
  Speaker 3: not actually create jobs. I think a party that wants
• 30:27
  Speaker 3: to do such a thing needs to actually lay out
• 30:29
  Speaker 3: a plan where they will create enough jobs for people out.
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: There rather than not getting enough jobs and then putting
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: this kind of policy. It's about paying a benefit so
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: you can actually live while you do not have work,
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: and it's not about creating work, it's not about creating jobs,
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: but they're also saying that if you're going to get
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: some money, that there is a sort of an obligation.
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: What do you think about the fact that they would
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: like to slash the benefits for those who have been
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: on benefits for two out of the last three years?
• 30:52
  Speaker 3: We have an issue with that because some people who
• 30:55
  Speaker 3: have things like cancer, who have ill mental health and
• 30:57
  Speaker 3: are on job-seeker medical leave, We'll end up having that
• 30:59
  Speaker 3: time counted towards the two years. Even Louise Thompson admitted
• 31:03
  Speaker 3: that there will be people with cancer who are affected
• 31:05
  Speaker 3: by this policy. And we don't think that that is fair.
• 31:08
  Speaker 3: People who are sick, injured or disabled actually deserve support,
• 31:11
  Speaker 3: not to actually have a timer on their heads.
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 31:13
  Speaker 3: Or their benefits could be slashed.
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: Okay. Should new permanent residents be entitled to JobSeeker?
• 31:19
  Speaker 3: The issue with cutting that support for permanent residents is
• 31:22
  Speaker 3: that if they find themselves unemployed, for example, through no
• 31:25
  Speaker 3: fault of their own, you're actually condemning them to poverty.
• 31:28
  Speaker 3: People actually are being made redundant right now through the
• 31:31
  Speaker 3: use of, for example, artificial intelligence. People are losing jobs
• 31:34
  Speaker 3: through automation. Having a sector of the population that cannot
• 31:37
  Speaker 3: access welfare only makes us poorer because those people end
• 31:40
  Speaker 3: up having to get into debt. They will end up
• 31:42
  Speaker 3: needing support elsewhere in the system. So it actually, again,
• 31:44
  Speaker 3: is just populist politics that do not improve outcomes.
• 31:47
  Speaker 2: All right, Ricardo, I thank you for your time today.
• 31:49
  Speaker 2: Ricardo Menendez-Marge. And can I just actually point out John
• 31:51
  Speaker 2: Key's government in 2013 to 2015 had a trial of
• 31:54
  Speaker 2: all this and it didn't work. But at the same time,
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: there is a sort of a moral level at the
• 31:59
  Speaker 2: bottom of the whole thing. And can I also please
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: also point out that the first step is not stripping
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: them of the benefit after they've failed a test, but
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: paying for some anti-drug counseling. And so therefore, they get
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: a warning before it happens. What do you think? It
• 32:15
  Speaker 2: is 7 to 6.
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: On your radio and online on iHeartRadio. Early edition with
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: Andrew Dickens and Spark for Business. Technology that keeps business moving.
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: Newstalk ZB.
• 32:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so Lou writes and says, good morning, Andrew. Good morning, Lou.
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: Solo parent benefits should be drug testers as well. Maybe
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: the pension as well. Look, I was listening to Heather
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: last night and they were saying, Tim Wilson was on
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: there as well, and he was saying, well, actually, what
• 32:43
  Speaker 2: about MPs? And then he said, what about broadcasters? What
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: about everybody? But we'll be fine, wouldn't we, Mike? We'll
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: be fine.
• 32:51
  Speaker 12: It was the stupidest question when they asked Luxon yesterday.
• 32:54
  Speaker 12: You're testing beneficiaries. Most workplaces have drug policies. So when
• 32:59
  Speaker 12: you ask the Prime Minister, would you be drug tested?
• 33:02
  Speaker 12: I'm assuming there's some sort of drug testing regime within
• 33:05
  Speaker 12: the parliamentary compound that, you know, periodically they come up
• 33:07
  Speaker 12: to you. They test me every morning before I come
• 33:10
  Speaker 12: in here.
• 33:10
  Speaker 2: Well, did you hear Ricardo just now? He was saying
• 33:12
  Speaker 2: that this is not going to create jobs. And I
• 33:13
  Speaker 2: was going, this is not about creating jobs. This is
• 33:16
  Speaker 2: saying if you're getting some money from somebody, there is
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: some level of obligation.
• 33:20
  Speaker 12: The only argument, the only sympathy I have, which is
• 33:22
  Speaker 12: I think where Hipkins missed his line yesterday, was he
• 33:24
  Speaker 12: was saying it's punching down and it's unfair there aren't
• 33:27
  Speaker 12: the jobs. There is an argument that says in a
• 33:30
  Speaker 12: tight market, penalising people who can't find a job, some
• 33:35
  Speaker 12: will be for very good reason they can't. You know,
• 33:38
  Speaker 12: why penalise them? That I have sympathy for. But as
• 33:40
  Speaker 12: for the rest of it, if you're going to take
• 33:42
  Speaker 12: money from the road, I just, in a way, I'm
• 33:44
  Speaker 12: surprised we haven't already for years.
• 33:46
  Speaker 2: Well, we had a crack at it. The John Key
• 33:47
  Speaker 2: government had a crack at it 2013, 2015, decided it
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: didn't work. It's back again.
• 33:52
  Speaker 12: What we also know is that red light thing, you know,
• 33:55
  Speaker 12: the lights on, the number of jobs you apply for,
• 33:57
  Speaker 12: the CV you've got to have, et cetera.
• 33:59
  Speaker 2: That's worked.
• 34:00
  Speaker 12: You know, they all said it wouldn't work. It was
• 34:01
  Speaker 12: punching down, blah, blah, blah. But that works. Anyway, Damien McKenzie,
• 34:05
  Speaker 12: way to the nation on his shoulders.
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: Big job.
• 34:07
  Speaker 12: Would have thought so. Anyway, so he's in this morning.
• 34:09
  Speaker 12: We'll have a talk to him. And there's a couple
• 34:10
  Speaker 12: of things we need to sort out on education that
• 34:12
  Speaker 12: Hipkins was into yesterday.
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: Producer Kenzie, thank you. Producer Sam, thank you. Have yourself
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: a great weekend. I'm Andrew Dickens. See you Monday.
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: to News Talk ZB from 5 a.m. weekdays or follow
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: the podcast on iHeartRadio.