Listen to the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 15 October. Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're all living much longer, aren't we? At what cost? That's my question for you this morning. A report out over the weekend found human life expectancy has just about peaked globally. It's lights out. Goodbye.   New Zealand men, you'll make 80, women, you'll make 83, which is great, longer life. Everyone wants one right now. We're told that we also have a health system in crisis. People waiting in waiting rooms, they can't afford to see a GP. Over the weekend, I read about a family man, a carpenter from Westport who was sent home, hours later he was dead. In Rotorua a month ago, remember a man died in the waiting room at the emergency department while waiting. So we don't have enough resources for health or we're not optimising the resources that we do have to meet the needs and we're being overwhelmed by them. We have a huge aging population, the number of people 65 and over which was around 700,000 a few years back, that will quadruple by mid-2024. The number of people 90 over 31,000 that will quadruple in 20 years. So, we'll have 125,000 90 plus year olds in New Zealand. Now, if you're a doctor, you've got two people, both as sick as each other, one's 40 one's 90. One might die if you treat the other first. What do you do? Serious question? I mean, to me, the obvious answer is one person has had 90 years on this planet. You treat the young one first, don't you, because the older ones had more life to live. Am I saying let's stop treating patients based on need and discriminate against the elderly? No, because I love my grandmother. We have to do it on who's sickest, who's closer to death, all that sort of stuff. But I am curious, for those who work in healthcare, is there a touch of bias on who you might treat first? I know you've got the Hippocratic Oath, et cetera, but if you're presented with a situation like that, how do you respond to it?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

King Charles III is bringing two doctors and a supply of his blood on his tour of Australia and Samoa starting later this week. The King has been dealing with cancer since February. It will be his first visit to Australia as King - New Zealand was believed to be dropped from the itinerary on medical advice. UK correspondent Gavin Grey told Ryan Bridge the King is taking a pause on his chemotherapy treatment during the trip. “We believe that there are no evening engagements, he has days off during his tour which is more than a week.” Grey says the King was gutted not to also visit New Zealand, but his clinicians thought it was a bridge too far. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Statistics show there's been more gun crime in Auckland this year than the last. RNZ reports there were 879 gun crime offences across Auckland in the first six months of the year - 28 more than the same time last year. Just 18 of those were committed by people with a firearms licence. Ministerial Advisory Group for Victims of Retail Crime Chair Sunny Kaushal told Ryan Bridge New Zealand is fast becoming a violent society. “It’s crucial that the decisions around firearms policy are shared by those who deal with the gun violence directly. That’s the Police and affected communities, not just policymakers in Wellington.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The gates are opening for foreign investors looking at New Zealand companies and property. The Government's reforming the Overseas Investment Act - allowing any investment that doesn't threaten our interests. Federated Farmers Meat and Wool Chair Toby Williams says he supports the change. He told Ryan Bridge overseas buyers are interested in large farms - that Kiwi farmers can't afford to begin with. Williams says foreign owners wouldn't be interested in those that first farm buyers would be after  - so he wants to see some rules around the levels of investment. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By Christopher Reive in Barcelona In the days before the America’s Cup match in Barcelona, Team New Zealand starboard helmsman Peter Burling made it clear the team would take necessary risks to defend the Auld Mug. “When you get to the top level of any sport, you see people really getting punished for mistakes. In saying that, you can’t be afraid to take risks either,” he said. “You don’t want to come through it with a conservative mindset, that’s for sure, and we definitely will not be doing that. But we can fully expect if one of us makes a mistake, the other one will punish them.” In the third race of the Cup match against Ineos Britannia this morning, an aggressive move in the pre-start to draw a penalty against the Brits set the Kiwi crew up for a 52s win to take a 3-0 lead in the first-to-seven series. It was the only race of the day, with light winds seeing race management bring a halt to the day’s action, with race four postponed to tomorrow; initially scheduled as a reserve day. The two teams came into close quarters moments before the race proper began, to the point where their foils were overlapping. Both teams launched a protest with the umpires for the other not keeping clear. It was the Kiwis who were judged to be the fouled boat, with Ineos Britannia having to fall 75m behind Team NZ off the starting line. That allowed the defenders to choose their side of the course and dictate the race. “We tried it yesterday and they just got past us. It was a little bit uncomfortable with how close the boats got,” Burling said after the race “It’ll be interesting to see. The umpires obviously ruled we were clear there, so great to get a penalty and control the race from there.” Emirates Team New Zealand extended their lead in the America's Cup match. Photo / Ricardo Pinto, America's Cup The pre-start battle was among the biggest areas of interest coming into the Cup match, but through the opening three races, it has been the Kiwis coming away better from the starting line. In the third race of the series, Team NZ were able to control the course and make life tough for the Brits with their match-racing tactics and making them sail in dirty air. A mid-race comment from Ineos Britannia port helmsman Dylan Fletcher summed up the situation for his team: “I don’t think there’s anything else we can do, lads.” While the two boats were almost identical in their average speeds both upwind and downwind, the Kiwis had a slightly better average VMG, sailing about 800m less than the Brits. Racing is set to resume at 1.10am tomorrow (NZ time) with a one-race schedule. America’s Cup match results Emirates Team New Zealand beat Ineos Britannia by 41s.Emirates Team New Zealand beat Ineos Britannia by 27s.Emirates Team New Zealand beat Ineos Britannia by 52s Emirates Team New Zealand lead the America’s Cup first-to-seven series 3-0. Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Monday the 14th of October. Changes could be on the way to make foreign investment easier in New Zealand - how could it impact our rural sector? Gun crime is on the rise in our biggest city, and most of it is from unlicensed firearms holders. Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Group for victims of retail crime Sunny Kaushal joins the show. New Zealand is up 3 - 0 in the America's Cup - can we make it to 7 wins without a loss? Andrew Alderson has you weekend sport wrap. Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sunday marks the start of a big week ahead for Emirates Team New Zealand as they face Ineos Britannia in the race to retain the America’s Cup.  The first team to win seven races will take the Cup, the first two races taking place Sunday morning if weather permits.  Richard Gladwell, Editor for Sail World NZ, told Ryan Bridge that it’s always the defender's to lose, and Team New Zealand would have to screw something up to lose the Cup.  He said that they’ve had three months of development on top of Ineos Britannia, and they can certainly do a lot in there.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour says the current state of Government books shows it went too hard and too fast with public service cuts.   Treasury documents show the Crown's deficit has grown $3.4 billion dollars in the year to June, to $12.9 billion.   Spending is outpacing income, despite revenue increasing by $14 billion.  Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds told Ryan Bridge the Government could have kept public sector jobs if it ditched tax cuts.   She says public funding flows through the economy to help during a cost of living crisis.   Edmonds says the Government's decisions have made the annual deficit worse than at the height of COVID.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Florida residents are being warned not to visit areas hit by Hurricane Milton as clean up and rescue operations continue.   There's still flooding in many areas, and NBC is reporting there have been 10 deaths in various parts of the state.   More than three million properties remain without power.   US correspondent Mitch McCann in St Augustine, Florida, told Ryan Bridge that in many parts of Florida, it wasn’t as bad as it was forecast to be.  Some areas have been hit very badly, such as St Petersburg, where a baseball stadium had its roof ripped off, and a crane toppled into and destroyed a building just a few streets over.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If these new TradeMe numbers are to be believed, and I have no reason not to believe them, then the biggest problem that we have with property and getting a foot on the ladder is not price.  We're not too poor, we're too fussy.  So TradeMe has done a survey; 44% of buyers were willing to compromise on the size of a section. Only 40% on the size of the property. Only 40% on the size of the garden. Only 33% on the condition of the property, and 28% on the location.  If you flip those numbers, around 55% of people won't compromise on section size. I'll have the section size I like and nothing else.  60% - no compromise on the size of the property. 60% - none on the garden. 67% - it must be new or near new and 72% won't travel or leave their favourite suburb.  I mean, hard to please much?  I bought a house with holes in the floor and the walls, there were plants growing from the ground up into my bathroom.  The shower pooled; I had to use a bucket to empty the shower every morning.  This carried on for two years.  The shower was so small and the showerhead was fixed, so I had to duck every time I got in the shower, and it would only get me from my nipples down. I had very clean nipples and very filthy hair.  Anyway, the point of the story is I lived like that for two years. I fixed it up, on you go.  Things are okay, but you have to compromise. Property is not a perfectionist game, is it?  It's about compromise and it's about trade-offs. Like any good negotiation, surely everything must be on the table. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Friday 11th of October, the Government's books have sunk further into the red in the year to June, with the deficit $1.8 billion worse than forecast in the budget. Labour Finance Spokesperson Barbara Edmonds joins the show to discuss.  Hurricane Milton has hit Florida, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. US Correspondent Mitch McCann is on the ground in St. Augustine with the latest.  The America's Cup final gets underway this weekend with Emirates Team New Zealand facing Ineos Britannia. Richard Gladwell talks to Ryan ahead of the race.  Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The air quality in New Zealand has increased across the country, but some areas are still dealing with high levels of pollution.  The Our Air 2024 report shows the level of key pollutants —largely produced by transport and home heating— has reduced across most monitoring sites.   However, it also says air quality isn't good everywhere, and in some urban areas the pollution is above national standards and international guidelines.   Director of the Air Quality Collective, Dr Guy Coulson told Ryan Bridge that we’re headed in the right direction, improvement is just happening rather slowly.   He said that an estimated 3000 adults die each year from air pollution.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Northland's power network is being zapped into action in the wake of the pylon collapse outage.  In June, a contractor unfastened three legs of a pylon at once, putting around 88,000 homes and businesses out of power.  Northland MP Grant McCallum revealed a regional energy package, with Transpower and contractor Omexom putting one million dollars towards it.  McCallum told Ryan Bridge that it's not enough to make up for the financial damages, but it is something.  He said that it’s a goodwill payment and an acknowledgement that they did actually cause some harm to the people of Northland.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I know, I know we're celebrating this morning, the OCR, the money back in your pockets that's coming, inflation coming down.  But MBIE has warned the government that electricity prices are likely to rise significantly over the next two years – this is a story from BusinessDesk.  See, we have all seen the spot prices market increase, skyrocket even, but we haven't felt that at home because our gentailors, the guys that we get it off, insulate us by hedging.  However, getting power to us is expensive and we've just been talking to Grant McCullum from Northland about this exact point.  40% of our bill is distribution and transmission.  Forget your weather, whether the wind blows, you know, the sun shines the rainfalls, whatever. Just getting it to us costs almost half of our total.  And that job is done by essentially monopolies: the distributors, the lines, companies, Transpower.  So the Commerce Commission regulates their profits, we would expect them to do.  The contracts last five years, the next contract up for renewal in March.  Your household bill for electricity could go up $15 per month or $180 per year, for some households that will be $20 per month, $240 per year.  MBIE say there is a serious risk that some homes won't be able to afford heating.  And we know what happens when people can't heat their homes, the hospitals fill up, industry and business feel the squeeze, and our thin growth forecasts could also be squeezed by something like this.  So what's the moral of the story? Well, basically, go and buy yourself a nice warm jumper, get a hot water bottle. And if you are single and living alone, you have until April to find someone to cuddle at night. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An OCR cut could be behind an incoming boost in property market activity.  The Reserve Bank's cut the Official Cash Rate by 50-basis points to 4.75%.   Banks have lowered home rates in response to the cut.  Finance Minister Nicola Willis is celebrating the move as fantastic news and sees it as a sign inflation is under control.  LJ Hooker's Campbell Dunoon told Ryan Bridge this year's market has been cautionary  He says the stock has been there, and this will give buyers a nudge to participate.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are urging people in the path of Hurricane Milton to follow advice and evacuate.   The Category 4 Hurricane is expected to hit overnight in the state.   The core of the storm is expected to pass over west-central Florida, and storm surges of three to four and a half metres are possible.   Outer bands of the Hurricane are already impacting some areas.   US correspondent Sally Patterson told Ryan Bridge it will bring winds of up to 233 kilometres per hour.   She says it's expected to weaken before it makes landfall, but still could be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for the area.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Thursday 10th of October, the Reserve Bank has dropped the Official Cash Rate to 4.75% - what does it mean for the property market and your mortgage rates?  Transpower has released a new resilience plan for Northland's power grid following the transmission tower collapse in June - will it make a difference? Northland MP Grant McCallum joins the show to discuss.  Our air is slowly getting cleaner, but the pollutants in it are worse for our health than previously thought. Dr Guy Coulson talks to Ryan about the potential impacts of unhealthy air.  Hurricane Milton is closing in on Florida's west coast, with tornados making landfall ahead of its arrival. We're live to the United States for the latest.  Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The main suspect in the Madeleine McCann case has been cleared of separate rape charges.   47-year-old Christian Brückner was acquitted of five offences of sexual abuse in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.   German investigators identified Brückner in 2020 as a suspect in the disappearance of McCann from Portugal in 2007.   But UK Correspondent Gavin Grey told Ryan Bridge the judge found the witnesses weren't reliable enough to convict him of the rape charge.  He said there’s crossover in some of the witnesses in the sexual abuse case and the McCann case, which means that they’re likely to be seen as unreliable in both cases.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More interest rate cuts are on the horizon.  The Reserve Bank expected to cut the Official Cash Rate again this afternoon.  ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner is tipping a 50 basis point cut to 4.75%,.   She says it's what the market and most economists are predicting, and it’s become the default.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.