Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Full Show Podcast: 15 October 2026

Transcript

Full Show Podcast: 15 October 2026 · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The issues, the interviews and the insight. Ryan Bridge on
• 0:05
  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. Great to have your company. It is Thursday.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: It is six past five. Coming up this morning, we'll
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: look at the Herald leaders debate. Chris v.
• 0:17
  Speaker 3: Chris.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Tourism numbers are up and looking good, US. We'll talk
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: about inflation. That's up ahead of the midterms. And Casey
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Costello on police recruits. It is Thursday the 15th of October.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: Burnham's trying to be mediator between Trump and Zelensky. Zelensky's
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: off to number 10 in a couple of hours.
• 0:35
  Speaker 4: I should, at this moment in time, be careful in
• 0:39
  Speaker 4: terms of laying the ground to bring people back together.
• 0:42
  Speaker 4: That is the role I intend to play. It's the
• 0:45
  Speaker 4: right role for me to play in this moment. I
• 0:47
  Speaker 4: will listen to President Zelensky carefully, but he won't be
• 0:51
  Speaker 4: going away from Britain today empty-handed.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: Meanwhile, domestic politics, Burnham is ruling out a deal just
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: putting a bit of distance between himself and the Greens
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: over their Zionism is racism policy.
• 1:02
  Speaker 4: We cannot support a partnership with a party that holds
• 1:06
  Speaker 4: a position that has recently been adopted.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: Right, more Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia in the last
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: couple of hours. The Houthis have struck Aramco's Saudi headquarters
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: and say, we ain't stopping there.
• 1:17
  Speaker 5: The strikes were accurate, by God's grace, causing destruction and
• 1:21
  Speaker 5: fires at the targeted sites. The Yemeni armed forces confirmed
• 1:25
  Speaker 5: that their operations deep inside Saudi territory will continue in
• 1:28
  Speaker 5: the coming days by targeting the Saudi enemy's airports and
• 1:32
  Speaker 5: oil facilities. and its consequences on it will be severe,
• 1:36
  Speaker 5: God willing.
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: Russell Brand, he's in court, seven charges of rape and
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: sexual assault. This is all from 1999 to 2009. Today,
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: I feel blessed.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: I feel, of course, concerned, but hopeful that this process
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: will lead to good outcomes for everybody involved.
• 1:57
  Speaker 6: That's my prayer.
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: Prosecutors say he is a ruthless and calculated sexual predator.
• 2:04
  Speaker 7: Hear it first.
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: Ryan Bridge on early edition with Spark for Business, technology
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: that keeps business moving.
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: News Talk ZB. 9292 is the number to text. Great
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: to have your company this morning. Car fuel prices over
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: in the US, you won't be surprised to hear this,
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: of course, because of the war, but they're up 34%
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: over the last 12 months. So inflation higher than expected
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: over in America. Energy inflation, that's up 20% over the year.
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: And what they're looking for next, because food inflation over
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: there was, you know, you go and buy your groceries,
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: wasn't actually pretty subdued. This is the latest numbers to September,
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: compared to the number from September, I should say. So
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: over there, no second round inflation yet from the war
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: in Iran. That's what they'll be watching in the next numbers.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: The Fed will be watching that very closely. You know,
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: does your energy start to impact your food? We will
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: wait and see. Now, back home, opportunity, because you know
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: how Akile Wong, she said, I will go, whoever is
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: the bigger party, I will go with that party when deciding,
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: we'll call them first. Now, of course, Christopher Luxon says,
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: there's no way I'm going to call them. There's no
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: way I'm going to talk to them. But do people
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: actually believe that? If there was going to be the
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: possibility of a left-wing coalition, then surely you would just
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: pick up the phone and stop the so-called loony left
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: from getting back in, right? Anyway, it's interesting what QLA
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: Wong has said about how she will determine the largest party.
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: Is it the party with the biggest party vote percentage
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: or is it the party with the most seats in Parliament?
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: Because it could have been different things. They could be
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: different things. You know, when you've got the overhang, especially
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: with the way that some on the right are talking
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: about playing politics this year. So anyway, she has clarified
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: that And she has said she will call the party
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: who has the most seats in Parliament after the election.
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: So for anyone doing strategic voting, I suppose that wouldn't
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: put you off necessarily. Ten after five. Casey Costello, Associate
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: Police Minister, with us live next, Newstalk ZB.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: Before the news breaks, hear it first. Ryan Bridge on
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: early edition with Spark for Business, technology that keeps business moving.
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: Newstalk ZB. 5.12, great to have you company this morning.
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: Some lovely text from you on last night's debate. Great listen,
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: because of course you could listen on Newstalk ZB. Great listen,
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: says this texter. Someone is asking what is, and thank
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: you for your message there, Graham, just coming in. Someone
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: is asking what was Luxon's joke, or Hipkin's joke about Luxon,
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: taking people to the train station at the end? Now,
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: that's a very good question, because in the moment, I
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: had no idea what completely went over my head. It's
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: from Yellowstone, which is one of Luxon's favorite shows. So
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: Hipkins had obviously come in with a joke referencing Yellowstone.
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: And the reference is, you take somebody to the train
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: station means you take them out the back and kill them, basically,
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: you know, in the lawless Wild West. So that's what
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: he was getting at with that joke. For anyone who
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: hadn't seen Yellowstone, of course, it probably didn't land very well.
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: But luckily, Luxon clearly had 13 after five. Record numbers
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: of new cops about to hit the street. Between 720
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: and 730 recruits are graduating from Porirua's police college this year.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: That is almost 50% more than the average. But can
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: we keep them in the country? Casey Costello, Associate Police
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: Minister with me this morning. Minister, good morning.
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: Good morning, Ryan. How are you?
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: I'm very well, thank you. First of all, with your
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: hat on as a member for New Zealand First, what
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: did you make of that visit from Te Pāti Māori
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: and the Greens to the mob pad?
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: It was beyond despicable. They have done more damage for
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: our fight against organised crime than I think they even realise.
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: These are trying to legitimise themselves and they've just played
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: into their hand and told young people, oh, look at
• 6:03
  Speaker 3: these cool guys, just pathetic.
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: Is there any way that you can see that politicians
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: might need to go and meet with these people to
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: try and, I don't know, figure out how to turn
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: them around? Or is that just woolly, waffly nonsense?
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: Woolly, waffly nonsense. If they want to be treated legitimate,
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: take their damn patches off and meet as individuals. Don't
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: try and come as a collective entity as if you're
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: representing some legitimate business. And I wouldn't allow them into
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: my office. I wouldn't allow them into, I wouldn't meet
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: with them full stop, take your patches off and be
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: treated as individuals.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: How have you been getting the numbers into police recruitment
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: college going up? Are we lowering the standards here? What's
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: going on?
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: No, absolutely. And this is what's been so great. And
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: I have to, you know, the Deputy Commissioner, Jill Rogers,
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: has been a stalwart in this space, really changed the
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: way we advertise. You saw very early on, we We
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: redid the He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother sort of advert.
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: It's about telling really positive stories about what policing career is.
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: We increased to a 20-week course. The commission was very
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: strong about reinstating standards that had been, there was being
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: a lot more discretion applied than should apply, so absolutely
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: lifted the standards. But it's a career that people are
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: wanting to join, and I think the fact that they're
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: out there enforcing crime maintaining law and order has been
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: a real positive thing. Our attrition rate is currently at 4.6%,
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: which is a historical low.
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: How bad is it that we've got more gangsters on
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: the streets than cops, though?
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: I think this is really unhelpful. We want to know
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: who our gang members are, and we've worked really hard
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: to ensure we know who they are. If you know it,
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: you can control it. If you can see it, you
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: can control it. So actually knowing who they are is.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a good thing, but it'd be nice if
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: there were less of them.
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: Well, this is the part that all of the work
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: that I'm doing in organised crime space is actually targeting
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: these criminal networks. And when you've got politicians show up
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: and have photo ops with them and legitimise them, it's
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: pretty unhelpful. But yeah, we need to control this network,
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: and that's why I've said about organised crime networks, We
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: want to make a bigger dent. We take their money,
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: and that's the biggest pathway that I think needs to
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: be prioritised.
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: Casey Costello, Associate Police Minister. You're on Newstalk ZB.
• 8:24
  Speaker 8: 16 minutes after five, the FBI have gone and arrested
• 8:28
  Speaker 8: a guy, an OpenAI employee, because he bugged their main
• 8:31
  Speaker 8: headquarters in San Francisco, put a little device in there.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: He's a Saudi national, but an employee of, well, now
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: former employee of OpenAI. They don't quite know what he
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: was listening to, not quite sure what he picked up. But, jeez,
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: you would think like a big entity like OpenAI, I mean,
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: most corporates, like Fonterra in New Zealand, they would have
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: security people going in and looking for bugs in their
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: meeting rooms because of the risk of espionage. Economic espionage
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: is what it is. 17 minutes after five here on
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: Newstalk ZB. Coming up next, we'll talk to Grant Webster,
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: Tourism Holdings. It is good news on the tourism front.
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: News and views you trust to start your day. It's
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: early edition with Ryan Bridge and Spark for Business. Technology
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: that keeps business moving. News Talk ZB.
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: 19 minutes after five, housing's doing what housing does. We
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: had an REINZ report out yesterday, a 12% annual drop.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: This is the year to September for house sales. Stock
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: levels are up, so you've got more supply, you've got
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: the price coming down. ANZ Economist has said another down
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: notch for the housing market.
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: Ryan Bridge.
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: Tourism numbers in and they are looking good. Overseas visitors,
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: 250,000 for August. That's 99% of where we were in
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: August 2019 pre-COVID. Grant Weaver. Tourism Holdings, Chief Executive with
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: me this morning. Grant, good morning.
• 10:04
  Speaker 7: Good morning, Ryan.
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: This is good.
• 10:06
  Speaker 7: Yeah, it's really good. I think we can pretty much
• 10:10
  Speaker 7: call it six years of chasing historical peaks. And I
• 10:13
  Speaker 7: think we basically can say we're there now. Let's focus
• 10:16
  Speaker 7: on future growth.
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: Hey, there's a finance debate in Queenstown last night. Barbara Edmunds, Labour,
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: the Greens and Opportunity and even Shane Jones were on
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: board with the bid tax for Queenstown. So, I mean,
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: it looks like this thing is more and more likely
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: to happen. Well, I mean, that does depend on the
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: outcome of the election. But what do you make of that?
• 10:39
  Speaker 7: I think something needs to happen with funding models. It
• 10:44
  Speaker 7: is absolutely ideal that it is a national approach and
• 10:47
  Speaker 7: a consistent approach and that it is targeted to the
• 10:52
  Speaker 7: right solution so that the money isn't going into consolidated funds,
• 10:56
  Speaker 7: it's going into infrastructure and improving tourist experiences. But something
• 11:01
  Speaker 7: needs to happen, yes.
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: The increase in Chinese visitors, Queenstown, I think China has
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: now overtaken Australia in terms of visitors into Queenstown, which
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: is something we've been waiting for, isn't it? The return
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: of the Chinese tourists.
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: Absolutely.
• 11:17
  Speaker 7: It's really significant growth numbers this year and every sign
• 11:21
  Speaker 7: that that's just going to continue from here as well. And,
• 11:25
  Speaker 7: you know, that diversification is a good thing. We are
• 11:27
  Speaker 7: really heavily reliant on Australia. I mean, we're very close
• 11:31
  Speaker 7: to basically 50% of our arrivals. So good to get
• 11:34
  Speaker 7: that diversification and spreading back out. Let's get more from
• 11:37
  Speaker 7: the US and Europe, UK.
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: Look, summer's coming. Are we going to get all those
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: stories again this summer about people being miffed about the
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: freedom campers and the drivers and the infrastructure and the loos?
• 11:52
  Speaker 7: I certainly hope not. Let's get the mayors that are
• 11:56
  Speaker 7: out there in the regions that are going, we need
• 11:59
  Speaker 7: more economic development, we want more tourists, and let's focus
• 12:03
  Speaker 7: on those stories where it's going to create more jobs
• 12:06
  Speaker 7: and create more jobs through the seasons as well. So, yeah,
• 12:10
  Speaker 7: let's get the positive stories out.
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: All right. Grant Webster, always good to have you on
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: the show. Tourism Holdings' chief executive time is 22 minutes
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: after five.
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: Ryan Bridge.
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so those numbers into Queenstown, China continuing to lead
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: growth in visitor arrivals there, overtook the Aussies in August.
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: Chinese arrivals up 32% in August, accounting for 35% now
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: of the total. And Aussie arrivals were up 4.9%. That's 32%
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: of the total arrivals into Queenstown. I have to say, Queenstown,
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: whenever you see, I saw something on the news last
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: night about just the general vibe of Queenstown, just packed
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: with foreigners, having a great time. It's a beautiful place.
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: It is the jewel in the crown, isn't it, tourism-wise
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: in New Zealand? It is 23 minutes after five. Now,
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: on house prices, in this debate last night, they were talking,
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: you know, Christopher Luxon was saying a capital gains tax
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: would tank house prices. I don't know that it would
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: do that. But one thing we can say for sure
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: that it won't do is fix the housing market. Capital
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: gains tax is no silver bullet because remember the Labour
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: Party had that tax working group and they went away
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: and what's going to happen to the housing market if
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: we fiddle with a capital gains tax? That report came
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: back and was pretty emphatic. It'll have no increase or
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: a marginal increase on house prices. And it has the
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: potential to push up rents. Because if you've got more
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: costs for landlords, i.e. capital gains tax, then they won't
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: be giving discounts on their rent and therefore renters might
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: be paying more. So if you're in a cost of
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: living situation and you're whacking on a tax, I think
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: there's a legitimate question about whether That would actually make
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: life more expensive. 24 after 5, Newstalk ZB. Newstalk ZB,
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: 26 minutes after 5. The story of the week this
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: week goes to a Herald piece about Nairi Ashmore, principal
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: at Auckland Girls Grammar. It's a great read. You should
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: have a look at it. If you haven't, it's online.
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: Ten years ago, she took over, turned the place upside down,
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: and the results are speaking for themselves. Where there was failure,
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: there is now a 92% university entrance mark for year 13s.
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: That number, or that percentage, was less than 50 when
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: she started. The article gives the impression of a driven, serious,
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: quite determined leader there for the right reasons, which is
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: what you need. We need more of these leaders in schools. Interestingly,
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: one of the things that she found was most difficult,
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: not the kids, but the teachers. Getting them to believe
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: that the kids could actually do better and be better,
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: be more successful, that was the challenge. Thank goodness she
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: has succeeded. and she is a successful principal. I would
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: like more of her. I want more Nairis in schools
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: around New Zealand. I think we all do. We often, rightly,
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: put the focus on the curriculum or the style of
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: teaching or the assessments, but at the end of the day, leadership,
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: bit of vision, goals, and some guts are what drive
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: organisations to improve. It's true in business, and it's true
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: in education.
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: 27 minutes after five.
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: Now, let's go to last night's debate. A few surprises
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: from Chris Hipkins. Have a listen. Love of the voting
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: age to 16. On the table.
• 15:37
  Speaker 4: Really?
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: What about making today Māori compulsory within the education system?
• 15:42
  Speaker 9: It's already relatively universal, so I'm open to a conversation
• 15:45
  Speaker 9: about that.
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, a few interesting ones going in there. I can
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: imagine some listeners won't like what was said. Would they
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: break up the gen tailors? We asked about that too.
• 15:54
  Speaker 9: I'm leaving all options on the table.
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: You're open to.
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: Breaking up the gen tailors?
• 15:57
  Speaker 10: No, I don't see a need for it at this point.
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: So he doesn't see a need for it, but Winston
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: Peters wants to do it, of course, and he's going
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: to have to do a deal with Winston Peters. So
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: you've got Labour saying, yeah, open to it. New Zealand
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: First saying want it, and Luxon not ruling it out. So,
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: I mean, that is potentially on the table as well.
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: Does anyone think the supermarket thing is actually going to happen?
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: I don't think it will. At one point last night,
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: Luxon seemed to say, yeah, no, it's definitely happening, before
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: he said, oh, no, no, well, we've got to wait
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: for this report. Is Trump, if he came to New Zealand,
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: was the question, how would you welcome Donald Trump? Take
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: a listen. Would you welcome Donald Trump to New Zealand
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: with open arms? No.
• 16:42
  Speaker 9: Why didn't you ask him first?
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: Christopher Luxon.
• 16:47
  Speaker 10: The job of prime ministers is to get on with
• 16:49
  Speaker 10: every leader of every country that we do business with
• 16:51
  Speaker 10: and advance our national interests.
• 16:53
  Speaker 9: Actually, I do agree with what Christopher said on that.
• 16:55
  Speaker 9: When it comes to international relationships, you have to make
• 16:57
  Speaker 9: sure that you can work with other governments even where
• 16:59
  Speaker 9: you disagree with them.
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: 29 minutes after. I mean, that is true. It doesn't
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: matter whether you like the guy or you hate the guy,
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: if he comes to New Zealand... You've got to basically
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: roll out the red carpet. You've got to go to
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: the airport, shake his hand. If you're Celia Wade-Brown, you
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: jump on a bike and go and meet him at
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: the airport. Remember that? That was weird. I think it
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: was Secretary of State that came when she jumped on
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: her bike. Anyway, I digress. You've got to do what
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: you've got to do when you're leading a country, and
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: that includes shaking hands with people you may detest. You're
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: on Newstalk ZB. We're live to the US next.
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: The Early Edition Prog Show Podcast on iHeartRadio. Powered by
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: Newstalk ZB. Ryan Bridge on Early Edition with Spark for Business.
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: Technology that keeps business moving. Newstalk ZB.
• 18:06
  Speaker 11: We could be nice to each other, nice to each other,
• 18:11
  Speaker 11: wrong for each other.
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: 24 away from 6, you're on Newstalk ZB. Great to
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: have your company on this Thursday morning. Loads of text
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: coming in on last night's Herald debate. We will talk
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: to Bridget Morton about that just before top of the
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: hour this morning. We'll also head to the US. Prices
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: there are going up, which Trump won't like ahead of
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: the midterms. We've got new numbers for you this morning. Yeah,
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: lots of people watched and lots of people said, yeah,
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: great debate. Some people said, well, you know, what about
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: the smaller parties? And I think this is the problem.
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: And everyone knows it. And, you know, I tried to
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: give them an opportunity last night to just level with
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: us and say, yeah, you know what? We're the two
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: big parties, but we're no longer like that big. The
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: big party energy has kind of left the room. But
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: they're still sticking to these lines about, oh, no, we'll
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: grow the party vote, grow the party vote, grow the
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: party vote. It's very much a hope and pray strategy.
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: And I don't think. It's actually getting much in the
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: way of cut through because we've all seen the polls
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: and there's only one way they're moving and it's away.
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: People are voting with their feet away from the big parties,
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: 23 to 6. Let's go to our reporters, Callum and Dunedin. Morning, Callum.
• 19:20
  Speaker 7: Morning, Ryan.
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: Now, let's talk about former refugees coming to the city.
• 19:25
  Speaker 12: Yeah, look, since becoming a resettlement location here in 2016,
• 19:29
  Speaker 12: Dunedin's welcomed hundreds of former refugees. Now the city council,
• 19:33
  Speaker 12: along with the Dunedin Former Refugee Steering Group, have made
• 19:36
  Speaker 12: a video to be shown at the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre.
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: That's where families spend their first six.
• 19:42
  Speaker 12: Weeks here in New Zealand. Our councillor, Marie Lafiso, says
• 19:46
  Speaker 12: despite coming from cultures that have existed for millennia, refugees
• 19:49
  Speaker 12: face many challenges.
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: When they start new lives in a relatively young society.
• 19:53
  Speaker 12: So she says this video will introduce them to what
• 19:55
  Speaker 12: makes Dunedin a welcoming place to live and belong.
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: How's the weather?
• 20:01
  Speaker 12: Still a heavy rain watch here. Ryan, rain heavy at
• 20:03
  Speaker 12: times but it should ease towards this evening. Strong southerlies,
• 20:06
  Speaker 12: the high 10 today.
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: Nice one, thank you. Morning Claire.
• 20:09
  Speaker 13: Good morning.
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: Christchurch is turning into a catwalk today.
• 20:13
  Speaker 14: Yeah, this is after its debut last year, the Spring
• 20:16
  Speaker 14: Fashion Festival's back. It's expanded as well into a four-day
• 20:19
  Speaker 14: event running through until Sunday. Te Pai Convention Centre is
• 20:23
  Speaker 14: hosting it. It's transforming to have a runway with designer
• 20:26
  Speaker 14: shows and events dotted throughout the city as well. New
• 20:28
  Speaker 14: Zealand Fashion Week Executive Director Liam Taylor says this is
• 20:32
  Speaker 14: a celebration of iconic Kiwi designers, local brands and immersive entertainment.
• 20:37
  Speaker 13: He says last year's event was.
• 20:38
  Speaker 14: A bit of a trial for Christchurch, but it's grown
• 20:40
  Speaker 14: substantially to engage Ototahi audiences. Taylor says they're also working
• 20:45
  Speaker 14: with some local up-and-comers, which is really cool, with other
• 20:48
  Speaker 14: Institute students gaining first-hand experience behind the scenes.
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: Nice one. How's the weather?
• 20:53
  Speaker 14: More rain about today, scattered and becoming heavier this afternoon.
• 20:57
  Speaker 14: Southwesterly strengthening as we make our way to 14.
• 20:59
  Speaker 15: All right.
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: Sounds like you might be staying inside this afternoon, Claire.
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: Thank you very much. Max in Wellington. Morning, Max. Good morning.
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: The government's being urged to stop the sale of empty
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: state homes there.
• 21:09
  Speaker 6: Yeah, there are 36 carrying order homes in Strathmore Park,
• 21:13
  Speaker 6: which is just past the airport, that the agency wants
• 21:15
  Speaker 6: to sell. They're on the market with a deadline sale
• 21:18
  Speaker 6: of October 21. Some housing and social service organisations are
• 21:22
  Speaker 6: kicking up a bit of a fuss about that being
• 21:25
  Speaker 6: so close to the election, saying, well, who knows what
• 21:27
  Speaker 6: could be done with them after that, presumably should Labour
• 21:31
  Speaker 6: win the election. The Wellington City Mission, the Catholic Archdiocese,
• 21:34
  Speaker 6: they're among these 10 organisations. Kind order, not budging. They
• 21:38
  Speaker 6: say it's clearly not financially viable to fix them up
• 21:41
  Speaker 6: and revert them to new social housing. And everyone calm down.
• 21:44
  Speaker 6: The money from the sale will go towards 37 new
• 21:47
  Speaker 6: homes nearby.
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: So you sell 36.
• 21:49
  Speaker 6: And you get one free.
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: Right, how's your weather, Max?
• 21:53
  Speaker 6: Rain as well here, clearing this afternoon with winds easing.
• 21:56
  Speaker 6: But then some cold southerlies on their way tonight, the
• 21:59
  Speaker 6: next couple of days. A high of 16 today.
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: Thanks, mate. Neva's in Auckland. Good morning, Neva.
• 22:03
  Speaker 13: Good morning.
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: Hey, this is, well, good news that Olivia Deen is
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: coming too.
• 22:08
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: This is Olivia Deen, by the way.
• 22:10
  Speaker 11: She's amazing.
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: She's awesome, eh?
• 22:17
  Speaker 7: I love her.
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: Just the voice. And you feel like, even the first
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: time you've heard it, you feel like you've heard it
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: a hundred times.
• 22:22
  Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah.
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: Something just timeless and classic about it.
• 22:24
  Speaker 7: She's so great.
• 22:25
  Speaker 16: Are you going?
• 22:26
  Speaker 15: Are you going to the concert on Saturday?
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: I haven't got tickets.
• 22:28
  Speaker 10: No, I haven't either.
• 22:30
  Speaker 16: But you'll produce it.
• 22:34
  Speaker 13: So no fireworks, no fireworks, no pyrotechnics.
• 22:38
  Speaker 15: So, um, yeah, like all the fireworks are a plan
• 22:41
  Speaker 15: for Olivia Dean sold out show.
• 22:42
  Speaker 13: This is at, uh, Western Springs, but they've.
• 22:45
  Speaker 15: Now been canceled. Now, apparently, um, residents in that area,
• 22:48
  Speaker 15: they were sent a letter informing them of the fireworks.
• 22:51
  Speaker 15: That's now been changed. Auckland stadium says now it works
• 22:55
  Speaker 15: very closely because Aucklanders know the Auckland zoo was nearby. Um,
• 22:59
  Speaker 15: Auckland Stadium says that, you know, it works closely with
• 23:02
  Speaker 15: the zoo about animal welfare. It hasn't confirmed, though, if
• 23:05
  Speaker 15: that's the reason why. But, you know, the last time
• 23:08
  Speaker 15: the fireworks were used was during, I think it was 2023,
• 23:11
  Speaker 15: post Malone.
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: Oh, ages ago. Yeah, ages ago.
• 23:13
  Speaker 7: So, yes, that should be good.
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: How is our weather?
• 23:16
  Speaker 15: Rain, possibly heavy around midday, easing to showers. So it's
• 23:19
  Speaker 15: going to be fine by the afternoon, 19 the high
• 23:21
  Speaker 15: here in Auckland.
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: Very good. Thank you very much. It is 19 minutes
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: away from six. You're on Newstalk ZB. We're live to
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: the United States next. They've got a problem with their prices.
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: They are going in the wrong direction. And that is
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: bad news for Donald Trump ahead of the midterm elections.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: Loads of text coming in on the gang pad situation.
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: So the Greens Interparty Māori, or some MPs from Greens
• 23:41
  Speaker 2: Interparty Māori, have gone to a mongrel mob pad for
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: a photo op. As you can imagine, the coalition is outraged.
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: We just had Casey Costello on the show. She says, despicable.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: You can't really defend that, can you? I think it
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: was Harry Tam. I saw a photo on the news.
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: I think it was Harry Tam who was involved there.
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: 18 to 6, we're live in the US next. 26
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: minutes away from, sorry, 16 minutes away from 6 here
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: on Newstalk ZB. Let's go to the States. Katie Fisher,
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: our US correspondent. Katie, inflation up and this is ahead
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: of the midterms.
• 24:22
  Speaker 17: Yeah, this is really bad news for Donald Trump. Inflation
• 24:25
  Speaker 17: shooting up 3.7% in September. compared with a year before.
• 24:31
  Speaker 17: That's faster than a month earlier. And they're basically blaming
• 24:35
  Speaker 17: this on gas prices, essentially saying that the increase has
• 24:40
  Speaker 17: stemmed from the energy prices that have soared because of
• 24:43
  Speaker 17: the war with Iran. Gas prices here in the US
• 24:47
  Speaker 17: rose to their highest level in four months at the
• 24:49
  Speaker 17: end of September at $ 4.
• 24:50
  Speaker 13: 50 a gallon.
• 24:51
  Speaker 17: That's a 9.1% surge during the month. And that is
• 24:57
  Speaker 17: what is causing the inflation to go up. And it
• 25:00
  Speaker 17: means that there's potential. There is one more Federal Reserve
• 25:03
  Speaker 17: meeting before people go to vote in the midterm elections
• 25:06
  Speaker 17: on October the 28th. Most analysts thought that they wouldn't
• 25:11
  Speaker 17: be raising rates, interest rates again before those midterm elections.
• 25:16
  Speaker 17: But this new data shows could put pressure on those
• 25:19
  Speaker 17: governors to, in fact, increase interest rates just before people
• 25:23
  Speaker 17: go to the polls.
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: And this all ties in with the war, doesn't it?
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: Because Trump is very keen for Zelensky to stop hitting
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: Russia's oil industry, those long-range strikes. What's all this got
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: to do with Starlink, which is Elon Musk's outfit?
• 25:37
  Speaker 17: Yeah, this is interesting. Today, Ukraine said that suddenly, overnight,
• 25:41
  Speaker 17: they can no longer use their Starlink-operated power computer programs
• 25:46
  Speaker 17: which control their drones. They help their air defenses. And
• 25:51
  Speaker 17: they don't know why. The journalists have asked Elon Musk
• 25:57
  Speaker 17: to answer for this, but there's been no response. So
• 26:00
  Speaker 17: they are not clear whether this is a technical issue
• 26:02
  Speaker 17: or what many are concerned is that it is a
• 26:05
  Speaker 17: political move because Donald Trump has been so vocal about
• 26:09
  Speaker 17: in his calls for the Ukrainians to stop hitting Russian
• 26:14
  Speaker 17: oil refineries, which are causing the price of diesel here
• 26:18
  Speaker 17: in the US to go up. And he is putting
• 26:22
  Speaker 17: loads of pressure on the Ukrainian leader over the weekend.
• 26:26
  Speaker 17: He said that, you know, they should vote for a
• 26:29
  Speaker 17: new leader because he wasn't doing enough. He called for
• 26:32
  Speaker 17: an energy ceasefire. But Russia continues to target energy sites
• 26:39
  Speaker 17: in Ukraine. Just overnight, 30 energy sites targeted 600,000 people
• 26:45
  Speaker 17: now without power in Ukraine, which is why Vladimir Zelensky,
• 26:49
  Speaker 17: the Ukrainian leader, says he wants to retaliate by hitting
• 26:52
  Speaker 17: the Russians. But it looks like he can't do that
• 26:56
  Speaker 17: right now, not just because the operational equipment he uses,
• 27:01
  Speaker 17: run by Elon Musk's Starlink, is no longer working. It
• 27:05
  Speaker 17: also makes it clear to the Ukrainians that Relying on
• 27:08
  Speaker 17: a single private company to, you know, control most of
• 27:11
  Speaker 17: your battlefield operations is risky.
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: Katie Price, that is, sorry, Katie Fisher, our US correspondent, 23, sorry,
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: 13 minutes away from six.
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: Brian Bridge.
• 27:22
  Speaker 2: Having a great morning this morning. A little tongue-tied after
• 27:25
  Speaker 2: last night's debate. Hey, what's interesting in happening in the UK,
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: they are really, really worried because China is enjoying right
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: now One billion pounds per day. That is the trade
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: surplus that China has with the EU, a billion pounds.
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: And that's largely because of cars. So the Europeans are
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: getting together. This will be in the next couple of weeks.
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: And they're getting together and they're going to say, well,
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: how are we going to stop this? How are we
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: going to better protect our local industry? The UK is
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: worried because anything they agree on China will probably apply
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: to the UK and affect their car industry because, of course, Brexit.
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: 12 to 6.
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: Ryan Bridge.
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: So, we did have that second debate last night. This
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: is the Herald's Leaders debate. There was some handshake, shaking,
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: a little bipartisanship going on. You'll sit down and you'll
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: have a conversation about these longer-term issues.
• 28:15
  Speaker 9: I've already been very clear. We're going to stop the
• 28:16
  Speaker 9: flip-flopping on infrastructure.
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: So that's a yes?
• 28:18
  Speaker 9: We lose too many jobs on infrastructure by flip-flopping around
• 28:21
  Speaker 9: all of the time.
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: Can we get a handshake from you two? Happy to
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: do that. We've already agreed on that.
• 28:25
  Speaker 7: Go on then.
• 28:26
  Speaker 16: Happy to do it.
• 28:27
  Speaker 2: There we go. Yeah, it was a little bit awkward,
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: but they did it. Scraps over tax.
• 28:31
  Speaker 10: Mark my words, you are going to pay in New Zealand.
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: You are going to pay with more tax. I want
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: to move on to jobs. This is just nonsense.
• 28:37
  Speaker 9: You're spending hundreds of thousands of dollars telling lies about
• 28:40
  Speaker 9: the Labour Party's policy.
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: Luxon got a bit tripped up on the minimum wage.
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: Will you increase the minimum wage by the rate of inflation?
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: Chris Hipkins. Yes. Christopher Luxon.
• 28:48
  Speaker 10: Yes, and that's what we've more or less been doing.
• 28:50
  Speaker 7: No, it isn't.
• 28:51
  Speaker 9: The minimum wage has gone backwards three years in a row.
• 28:54
  Speaker 10: No, I was just saying, on average, we try and
• 28:56
  Speaker 10: look at inflation, cost of living, build that into minimum
• 28:59
  Speaker 10: wage increases.
• 29:00
  Speaker 9: But three years in a row, it's been below inflation.
• 29:02
  Speaker 6: We should try and be as close to the cost
• 29:03
  Speaker 6: of living as we possibly can.
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: And on the Greens and Te Pāntu Māori getting that
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: photo up with the mob, Hipkins says, well, they're not
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: getting anywhere near the portfolios. Will you rule out Te
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: Pāntu Māori or Greens holding the police.
• 29:15
  Speaker 13: Or corrections portfolios, Chris Hipkins?
• 29:18
  Speaker 2: Yes. Do you think it's appropriate they went to the mob, Pat?
• 29:21
  Speaker 4: No.
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: No.
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: Bridget Morton, political commentator with me this morning. Bridget, good morning.
• 29:25
  Speaker 3: Good morning.
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: Thoughts on last night?
• 29:28
  Speaker 16: Well, I think the actual real competition yesterday was not
• 29:31
  Speaker 16: actually between the two leaders, but whether or not they
• 29:33
  Speaker 16: could sell something to the people watching about why they
• 29:36
  Speaker 16: should vote for them, the so-called major parties, as opposed to,
• 29:39
  Speaker 16: you know, giving their vote to some of the minor
• 29:41
  Speaker 16: parties and I do think there was some elements I
• 29:44
  Speaker 16: think in last night's debate you can see both of
• 29:46
  Speaker 16: them really pointing to stability and the need to actually
• 29:50
  Speaker 16: have a significant sort of leading party to make sure
• 29:53
  Speaker 16: things actually get done I think that Hipkins, you know,
• 29:57
  Speaker 16: the key thing that was hurting him last night, and
• 29:59
  Speaker 16: that was, of course, those photos for the mongrel mob
• 30:02
  Speaker 16: visit from potential coalition partners to Party Māori and the Greens. Obviously,
• 30:06
  Speaker 16: that was really, can you imagine, you know, being Hipkins,
• 30:09
  Speaker 16: you're staying in your debate prep and no one's popping up.
• 30:11
  Speaker 16: That was a difficult, I think, thing for him to face.
• 30:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but he did seem to handle it not too
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: badly by ruling it out. So, you know, he knew
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: he was alive to how damaging that could be, obviously. Hey,
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: what about that, you know, the minors are getting bigger,
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: the majors are getting smaller. Do you reckon that's, you know,
• 30:29
  Speaker 2: could we just get another John Key or another, dare
• 30:33
  Speaker 2: I say, Jacinda Ardern for the left and this whole
• 30:35
  Speaker 2: thing will go away? You know, the popularity shoots up again?
• 30:40
  Speaker 16: Well, I think it is, without a doubt, there is
• 30:42
  Speaker 16: a sort of a global phenomenon happening at the moment.
• 30:44
  Speaker 16: There is a distrust, I think, in institutions that has
• 30:47
  Speaker 16: particularly come out post-COVID. And so you have actually seen
• 30:50
  Speaker 16: across the world, particularly in Western democracies, those sort of
• 30:54
  Speaker 16: major parties, those ones that are associated with being the government,
• 30:58
  Speaker 16: losing sort of support and losing trust. I do think
• 31:01
  Speaker 16: that will probably correct itself to a certain extent. Also,
• 31:04
  Speaker 16: if you do go into an ex-government and it is
• 31:06
  Speaker 16: a coalition that is chaotic and that things don't get
• 31:10
  Speaker 16: actually done, I think voters will see that and want
• 31:12
  Speaker 16: to actually vote back for that stability of perhaps those
• 31:15
  Speaker 16: major parties.
• 31:16
  Speaker 2: Bridget Morton, political commentator. Great to have you on the
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: show this morning. It is eight to six. Newstalk ZB.
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: The news you need this morning and the in-depth analysis.
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: Early edition with Ryan Bridge and Spark for Business. Technology
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: that keeps business moving. Newstalk ZB.
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: Time is six to six here on Newstalk ZB and
• 31:37
  Speaker 2: Mike's in the studio. Have I missed my friend Mike?
• 31:40
  Speaker 4: Do you.
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: I looked at you.
• 31:41
  Speaker 13: This morning and I thought, I... I remember you. And
• 31:46
  Speaker 13: I'm thinking to myself, didn't you used to do early edition?
• 31:50
  Speaker 11: I did.
• 31:50
  Speaker 6: Good.
• 31:50
  Speaker 13: Are you, just for my own edification, are you taking
• 31:54
  Speaker 13: next week off to prepare for the 29 campaign?
• 31:58
  Speaker 2: Do you know what's going to disappoint you? We have
• 32:00
  Speaker 2: another debate next Wednesday with the minor party.
• 32:02
  Speaker 13: So you take a few more days off to warm
• 32:04
  Speaker 13: yourself up for that?
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: I actually won't be here. Do you know what people
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: don't see behind the scenes? Because NZME is not a news,
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: a TV, television studio.
• 32:14
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 32:15
  Speaker 2: So there is actually a hell of a lot of
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: stuff that needs to be done to make a television
• 32:19
  Speaker 2: show out of NZME.
• 32:20
  Speaker 13: So what are you saying? You've been putting the chairs
• 32:22
  Speaker 13: out or something? Have you been wiring the spotlights?
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: I've been moving chairs. I've been shifting things. I've been
• 32:28
  Speaker 2: quite hands-on.
• 32:30
  Speaker 13: So you're Ryan the handyman. That's me. And then after
• 32:33
  Speaker 13: you've put the chairs out and adjusted the lighting, you
• 32:35
  Speaker 13: then go and put a suit on and go, good evening, everybody,
• 32:38
  Speaker 13: and welcome to the debate. Is it a bit gerrymandered
• 32:42
  Speaker 13: and cheap behind the scenes is what you're saying?
• 32:43
  Speaker 2: No, it's not gerrymandered and cheap because it doesn't look
• 32:46
  Speaker 2: gerrymandered and cheap, but it is not a full-time, it's
• 32:50
  Speaker 2: not a, you know, it's not a, purpose-built television studio.
• 32:53
  Speaker 2: Do you know the interesting thing?
• 32:54
  Speaker 13: It's funny you should say that because I watched what
• 32:56
  Speaker 13: you did last night, this morning, and in terms of visuals...
• 33:01
  Speaker 13: And you're right. I know how these things are run
• 33:04
  Speaker 13: out of this place. And there was no visual disconnect
• 33:07
  Speaker 13: between that and what TVNZ does. And I've done it
• 33:09
  Speaker 13: at TVNZ and I know the facilities they've got. And
• 33:12
  Speaker 13: so you lost nothing visually by doing it the way.
• 33:14
  Speaker 2: You did it. Interesting, isn't it?
• 33:16
  Speaker 13: But you look like crap this morning, I've got to say.
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 33:18
  Speaker 13: I mean, you look shocking.
• 33:19
  Speaker 2: I didn't look great when I walked in. I did
• 33:21
  Speaker 2: see myself in there. Hey, how have you been? What's
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: been going on?
• 33:24
  Speaker 13: I've been amazing.
• 33:25
  Speaker 2: What's happening in life? Oh, just generally?
• 33:27
  Speaker 11: Yeah.
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: How's Katie?
• 33:28
  Speaker 13: Katie's fantastic. The kids are well.
• 33:31
  Speaker 15: Good.
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's only been like three, four days.
• 33:36
  Speaker 13: Kids have left home. On a ratio of time off
• 33:39
  Speaker 13: to energy, because having done this myself, I wouldn't have
• 33:43
  Speaker 13: taken as much time off as you did because it
• 33:46
  Speaker 13: puts pressure on you to perform.
• 33:49
  Speaker 2: Except how many debates did you do? I'm doing three debates.
• 33:53
  Speaker 2: I did two or three.
• 33:54
  Speaker 13: I can't remember. I think I did three at peak.
• 33:57
  Speaker 2: In one election campaign.
• 33:59
  Speaker 13: Yeah, in one election campaign. And I just did it
• 34:01
  Speaker 13: as part of my job, which is not to insult
• 34:03
  Speaker 13: you taking time off. I'm just saying.
• 34:04
  Speaker 2: Well, there's a little backhander.
• 34:05
  Speaker 13: No, it's a little backhander. But in terms of the
• 34:08
  Speaker 13: rhythm of the day.
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I understand.
• 34:10
  Speaker 13: And just being in, you know.
• 34:11
  Speaker 2: You're shagged. Do you know what though? I do two
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: shows per day and am much busier than you, Mike.
• 34:16
  Speaker 13: Yeah, oh no, I disagree. Because I've seen what you
• 34:21
  Speaker 13: do and it's pretty bloody easy. I mean, it's a
• 34:23
  Speaker 13: bit obvious, isn't it?
• 34:25
  Speaker 2: Hey, what's on the show today?
• 34:28
  Speaker 13: Well, we just want to spend some time reviewing you
• 34:29
  Speaker 13: from last night.
• 34:30
  Speaker 2: Good.
• 34:31
  Speaker 13: Are you available to talk?
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: No.
• 34:33
  Speaker 13: Tell you what, Greg Johnson, music.
• 34:35
  Speaker 8: Brilliant.
• 34:36
  Speaker 13: He's in for a song and a chat.
• 34:37
  Speaker 2: Like next.
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: to Newstalk ZB from 5 a.m. weekdays or follow the
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: podcast on iHeartRadio.