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The Head of Europe's central bank is resigning nine months before her eight year term ends.  Christine Lagarde is stepping down as President of the European Central Bank on February 7th, 2027.  Her resignation also comes ahead of France's next presidential election, and there's speculation the timing was chosen so her successor could be chosen while the pro-EU Emmanuel Macron was in power.  Business Correspondent Vicky Pryce joined Ryan Bridge to discuss.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transport spokespeople from both major parties are welcoming the progress on closing the gap with Australia on road deaths.  Between 2016 and 2018, New Zealand's road death rate was 2.5 people per 100,000 higher than Australia's.  By last year, that gap had narrowed to just 0.4.  National's Associate Transport Spokesperson James Meager told Ryan Bridge there are better roads, vehicles, and driver behaviour.   He says new roads with 110 kilometre limits have seen few crashes and deaths, proving you can move quickly and safely.   Labour's Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere told Bridge improvements in roadside testing and enforcement has made a difference.   He says there's still work to go with the numbers of young people seriously injured and road safety data.  But the two parties are clashing over how Labour would fund its proposed three-year freeze on fuel tax.   Utikere told Bridge the cost of living is priority, and it would look at scaling back investment from the National Land Transport Fund to help pay for the freeze.  He says the focus would be on maintaining existing roads, rather than promising new projects the country can't afford.  Meager says the prospect of scaling back is concerning, and says Labour needs to provide more clarity on what projects would be affected.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Monday the 2nd of November 2026, Associate Transport Minister James Meager and Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere join Ryan for a election special panel on transport policy.  Business Correspondent Vicky Pryce has the latest on the reaction from the UK Budget and ECB President Christine Lagarde to stepping down.  More people are waiting longer for drug and alcohol rehab, Drug Foundation Executive Director Sarah Helm explains why.  Plus UK/Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey has the latest on the Gen Z protests spreading across Europe and three days of national mourning in Spain following another fatal train crash which killed 69. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.           LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where people live could dictate how quickly they're seen by addiction services.   Health New Zealand figures obtained by Newstalk ZB show more than two thirds of drug and alcohol referrals were within three weeks.   But only 40.3% in Manawatū's MidCentral health district met that timeframe.   Drug Foundation Executive Director Sarah Helm told Ryan Bridge the addiction space has been chronically underfunded over many years.   She says wait times in general are too long – the window of opportunity for somebody with addiction who's interested in making a change is very short.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Netball New Zealand's board strikes again. And is refusing to do interviews. Again.   I don't know what it is with these guys but every time there's a bit of good news to celebrate, like the Silver Ferns winning the Constellation Cup, Netball NZ straps on the suicide vest and wanders into the conversation to blow things up.   Last week they turned down the Mowbray/Williams bid for a private domestic competition. Without warning.   Williams and Mowbray were told the day after the decision was made and the damage done.   Nathan Limm, who you'll know from our sport panels, wrote at the weekend about players having to go on the dole because there's no certainty and no contracts to sign.   The blow-up basically comes down to Netball NZ's principles, at least according to a statement from the CEO.   They couldn't do a deal because their principles got in the way.  Anyone reading that will assume it means they worried the money would be put before the sport.   But for the players, there's no sport without the money. Otherwise, you're on the dole.  And as for Netball NZ's claim that they're priority is giving players clarity as soon as possible?   The CEO's communication team has not replied to our requests for an interview.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand Rugby Players' Association boss Rob Nichol has reflected on a needs-must moment for the sport.  That follows the move for the five Super Rugby city hubs to consolidate franchise operations with their respective NPC teams from 2028, in a bid to reduce overhead costs.  The governing body are also aiming to have more school leavers attending academies, something Nichol says is paramount in the current landscape.  He told Ryan Bridge when kids are coming out of school, they really want to know what they're committing to.  Nichol says the sporting landscape is competitive – it's not like 15, 20 years ago, people have options.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

First-home buyers are still dominating the market.  The latest Cotality Westpac First Home Buyer Report finds they made up almost 30% of property purchases in the third quarter of this year.  It shows lower house prices and mortgage rates are helping, with many tapping into KiwiSaver.  Cotality Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson told Ryan Bridge it varies, but on average homeowners are spending hundreds of dollars less on their mortgages than a few years ago.  He says the huge savings there and the lower house prices are a big plus for first time buyers.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Possible overhangs, high voter turnout, lower enrolment, and the Opportunity Party all mean the outcome of the election is too close to call, former Labour leader Phil Goff says.  “Come Election Night, by midnight we may well not know who is going to govern New Zealand and that may take a couple of weeks after that, probably up to the edge of Christmas,” Goff told Ryan Bridge.  While National could get a “huge overhang” if people split their candidate and party votes, it wasn’t clear if that campaign was working, Goff said.  He also believed turnout this year would be better than in 2023, based on early voting levels. However enrolment was down, Goff said, claiming up to 100,000 people had been "disenfranchised" by the enrolment cutoff changing.  The fate of Opportunity was also key, with leader Qiulae Wong saying she would find it very hard to work with NZ First.  "If the Opportunity Party gets in then there is...a chance that there'll be a change of government. If they don't get in, that makes it much harder for the left-of-centre coalition."  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Halloween is the new fireworks for kids in New Zealand, and it's a hell of a lot less controversial.  New Zealand First wants to ban backyard fireworks. Winston loves his horses and they get spooked.  The Greens back a ban. They love adopted Greyhounds. And cats.  When I was young, this time of year was all about shooting each other with Godzilla's. Smokebombs. Scraping all the powder off 50 sparklers to make a sparkler bomb.  But these days Halloween is where it's at.  The old English tradition has been overtaken by its American competitor. Well, it's not really American but the Americans have made it popular.  That means it's a growth industry.  If you're going to get Dracula teeth, you need Dracula blood. If you're getting the blood, why not get the whole costume?  Australians are expected to spend half a billion dollars on Halloween this year. That's up on last year.  If this trend continues, there'll probably be no point banning backyard fireworks, they'll just fizzle out on their own.  And on the whole, that's probably not a bad thing.  Better for kids to be scared witless than horses and dogs.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Friday 30 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.

A gin distillery at the bottom of the country is earning top-shelf recognition.  Bluff Distillery's been inducted into the prestigious Gin Guild – one of the first in New Zealand to receive the honour.  Co-founder Chris Fraser was installed as Warden Rectifier at the Lord Mayor of London's mansion earlier this month, just two years since launching the distillery.  Fraser told Ryan Bridge there's no secret formula behind their success.  He says it's gin that tastes like gin, as they just stick to the basics.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Political paralysis in Israel could leave behind a caretaker government with Benjamin Netanyahu at its helm.   With most votes counted, the incumbent's just ahead of his rival Gadi Eisenkot, with 53 seats to 48.    The Arab parties are on a record 19 seats, and the 61 seats needed to govern are beyond the reach of all sides.   CBS Middle East correspondent Linda Gradstein told Ryan Bridge coalition talks could drag on for weeks, with Netanyahu still in charge in the meantime.   She says it basically means his government's still the government and can do anything it was previously doing.  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Thursday 29 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.

National Party Finance Spokeswoman Nicola Willis said the Official Cash Rate not going up is "positive news for the economy".  The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was split 4-3 in its decision to hold the rate at 2.75% yesterday. Willis told Ryan Bridge that the Reserve Bank said yesterday inflation was not as high as it previously forecast.  "Ultimately, this is positive news for the economy because lower interest rates mean lower debt servicing costs for mortgage holders and for businesses."  With so much uncertainty around the globe, it is important that New Zealand controls its own domestic response, Willis said.  "We know from our last experience through Covid that when governments keep spending in a big way in response to international inflation pressures, that can make the situation a lot worse for Kiwis."  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wanna know something weird?   1 in 7 Australian adults could imagine falling in love with an AI chatbot.  They might tease us about our relations with sheep, but at least we're not actually getting into emotional relationships with a rack of computer hard drives.   Weirdos.   Anthony Albanese gave a speech yesterday about their new AI laws, which he's trying to pass and trying to get Opposition support for.   Guess what would be banned if the law passes?   Emotional Intimacy. How cooked. It's not just about adults, but they're worried young people are making chatbots their best friend.  How insane is that?   Did anybody think this would be the pressing issue of 2026?   To be fair, there's probably a similar chance of this happening here.   I've got a mate who is dangerously close to his Claude agent. Claude knows everything about him. They chat about life, work, and relationships.   Anthropic, which is basically the AI emotional pimp of the world, said in its filing for an IPO this week that there is a real risk to its business model that these chatbots could become sentient.   In other words, they start thinking for themselves.   If they do that, where does this end? Can a government stop a sentient chatbot from forming relationships with humans, even if they ban it?   Are people going to want to marry their Claudes?   Good luck trying to get this messed up genie back in its bottle.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.