Fire and Emergency's board is reportedly getting a pay rise while firefighters are striking for the same thing.

The Post is reporting Fire and Emergency NZ’s deputy chair and board members are in line for boosts of up to 79%.

A departmental briefing recommended Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden approve the large increases in December.

Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams told Ryan Bridge this highlights what have been systematic issues with a total failure of governance and insight within the organisation.

He says the organisation has seemingly lost its community service ethos.

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Thursday 2nd of April 2025, Washington Bureau Chief for the Guardian shares his thoughts what will come out of Donald Trump's address to the nation.

NASA is set to send four astronauts on their way around the moon, Executive Director of the New Zealand Astrobiology Network Haritina Mogosanu tells Ryan how big of a deal this is.

Fire and Emergency board members are getting a payrise of up to 80% this year, it comes as firefighters fight for pay rises themselves, Taxpayers' Union Executive Director Jordan Williams shares his thoughts.

Plus, US Correspondent Mitch McCann has the latest on Trump telling the UK's The Telegraph he is strongly considering pulling out of NATO and the US Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments on whether some children born in the US have a constitutional right to citizenship.

Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Astronomer's are over the Moon with excitement as NASA's first crewed lunar mission in 50 years is only hours away from take off.

The launch window for Artemis II begins at around midday New Zealand time.

It'll last about 10 days, with four astronauts circling the Moon, taking them further into space than ever before.

Astrobiology Network Executive Director Haritina Mogoșanu told Ryan Bridge NASA isn't in a rush to land on the Moon like it was with the Apollo missions.

She says the last moon landing was a military operation and during a space race.

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The American President's doing a live presser today on his war.

The Australian Prime Minister's just wrapped a live address to the nation on the oil shock.

And here, our Prime Minister is making his own announcement about a cabinet reshuffle.

It's a bit of an odd time to do it.

He's got Reti and Collins leaving, so he had to do it some point. The day before Easter Friday means he wants to spray and walk away for the weekend.

The good news is there's plenty of talent to promote - the likes of James Meager and Chris Penk.

Which is a contrast to the Opposition where the pool is quite shallow. Water comes up to your ankles.

For Luxon, getting the right team around him is not just important for running the country, it's his entire election strategy.

His pitch to voters is basically that he's the HR department. He prides himself on putting the right man in the right job.

The fact he's doing it today also suggests that he's not listening to the press gallery, who criticised him for opening Christchurch's new stadium while Nicola Willis was left to front oil crisis stand ups and pressers.

This is not necessarily a bad thing.

He's doing other stuff. Like reshuffles, thank you very much.

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An Auckland councillor says people shouldn't read too much into yet another change to Auckland's density plan.

The Government revised the Super-city's minimum housing capacity for a second time yesterday, settling on 1.4 million after continued push-back in some suburbs.

Last month it reduced it from two-million homes to 1.6-million.

Councillor Richard Hills told Ryan Bridge the latest number just feels like political game playing.

He says legal requirements mean it'll likely end up near 1.6 million regardless.

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There are hopes thawing our frosty relationship with the Cook Islands shouldn't be too tough for the Foreign Minister.

Winston Peters is meeting Prime Minister Mark Brown on his home turf after an Auckland meeting last month.

Relations have been tense since the Cooks didn't consult with New Zealand on a partnership deal with China, despite our free association arrangement.

Former Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff told Ryan Bridge Peters should have the upper hand.

He says Brown has an election this November and it's really unpopular among Cook Islanders to think they'd lose their New Zealand passports.

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All signs are pointing towards inflation going up - as the Middle East conflict causes business confidence to plummet.

ANZ's latest Business Outlook survey shows most firms expect costs to increase as economic insecurity sets in.

Most anticipate they'll raise prices in the next three months.

Retail and construction had the sharpest slides in confidence.

Auckland Business Chamber Chief Executive Simon Bridges told Ryan Bridge after the tariffs last year, this feels like a sense of deja vu.

He says this survey was from early days of the war - so things will likely get worse.

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Remember the outrage over bureaucrats working for home, even though Covid was a distant memory?

Government came in and said they should all pack their lunch and go back to work.

Problem is this isn't happening.

As you'll from listening to this show, ACC has already staged backdown.

Now MBIE is doing the same.

To her credit, Fleur Fitzsimons at the PSA union, has layered up and successfully argued workers' collective contacts allowed them to work from home.

Now, the policy to restrict WFH, or what they call 'flexible work', is heading for the bin.

Some ACC staff only have to be in the office two days a week. The equivalent of a weekend at the office.

Days off, or at home, are unusually Fridays and Mondays, conveniently.

This is all in spite of the fact management at ACC said staff are less productive and its a culture killer.

Now I don't blame the workers here, or the Union. They're exercising their rights and won before it even got to Employment Relations Authority.

Good on them.

But for anyone who runs a business in the private sector, or works in one, this sort of stuff makes your blood boil.

If it's good enough for us, why not them?

Do they really work as much or efficiently at home?

Why was this clause written into their collective contracts the first place.

Surely, once they expire, the next offer of work might require workers to actually turn up for work.

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