Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

An expert believes National's proposed pre-school check carries merit and is definitely worth exploring.
The party says its early childhood policy will set clearer expectations for what children are checked on before school.
If re-elected, National wants to end screen and device use in ECE and introduce a School Start Check before children transition to primary school.
Advocates for Early Learning Excellence Chair Kelly Seaburg told Ryan Bridge it's good to see if children can manage basic things like getting dressed and going to the bathroom.
She says the checks may help show if additional teaching strategies are required.
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Labour says it will tackle the supermarket duopoly in its first 100 days, if it forms the next government.
The party will force Foodstuffs and Woolworths to break their wholesale and retail arms up into separate businesses.
It says it will also crack down on big companies ripping people off - by making price gouging illegal.
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Spokesperson Arena Williams told Ryan Bridge the idea for a wholesale-retail split comes from the Commerce Commission's work.
She says National could have done this in 2025 - when Woolworths brought a credible plan to transition the industry to separate wholesalers.
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There's thing happening with parents, responsibility and the state.
Kids are wither misbehaving or not learning, parents are putting their hands up, and the state is having to regulate, what kids can and can't do.
I was watching the news last night and a researcher was telling the story of an early childhood teacher.
Teacher said parents had turned up with their toddler to class, handed over an Ipad with the kid, and said that the child would not eat any meals without being plugged into an Ipad.
You can't tell me parents haven't heard screen time is bad news.
Remember ECE is for kids who are three months to 5 years old.
So, perhaps to offset what the kid is being allowed to do at home, National wants to ban screens in class for toddlers.
In the UK, the state is now going after parents whose kids are behaving badly and turning into crooks.
If your kid commits crimes, you could lose your benefit or be sent to prison or fined.
So, we have the state basically saying that parents are not controlling their kids - either on screens or on the streets - and so steps in to parent for them.
Or use doll out punishment to force them to parent properly.
Which begs the question, what's happened to parenting?
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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Monday 21st of September 2026, Labour Commerce and Consumer Affairs Spokesperson Arena Williams tells Ryan about Labour's policy to split the retail and wholesale arms of Woolworths and Foodstuffs.
National's promising to ban screens at early childhood centres and tighten limits for years 1 to 3 at Primary school, Advocates for Early Learning Excellence Chair Kelly Seaburg tells Ryan if this would help the learning needs of young children.
Business Correspondent Vicky Pryce has the latest on the UK Bank of England not changing interest rates while US Fed and ECB and Japan did raise and Canada becoming a possible associate membership of the EU, and EU banks urged to become possibly stronger to compete with the US.
Plus, UK/Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey has the latest on the US and Denmark announcing a deal on Greenland's security, resolving a diplomatic dispute sparked by President Donald Trump's threats to seize it by force and UK parents could lose their benefits or face prison sentences for their children's crimes under reforms to the youth justice system.
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The GDP has grown as expected – rising 0.2% in the June quarter.
Construction was the biggest boost, up 2.7%, driven by more residential building projects.
It's the largest increase in construction activity since the June 2023 quarter.
Master Builders CEO Ankit Sharma told Ryan Bridge they've been seeing steady signs of improvements in both business and consumer confidence, so it's good to see that confidence turning into real growth.
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