Articles by Ryan Bridge

Opinion

Ryan Bridge: Nicola Willis is right not to splash the cash
Tuesday, 17 March 2026, 6:09am
A 1pm presser and Covid‑style alert levels. This fuel price spike is bringing back bad memories from those dark days of lockdown. But...
Opinion

Ryan Bridge: Labour shouldn't automatically back the Unions
Monday, 16 March 2026, 6:09am
Last week ended with a bizarre situation where Labour effectively came out against a pay rise for teachers. They did this...
Opinion

Ryan Bridge: Cranes in the sky, not always a good sign in Auckland
Thursday, 5 March 2026, 6:07am
You know how they say cranes in the sky is a good sign of growth? Well, not in Auckland. Not at Seascape. It’s meant to...
Opinion

Ryan Bridge: Who do we believe on vaping?
Thursday, 26 February 2026, 6:11am
There's a big puffy cloud of smoke hanging over the vaping versus cigarettes debate this week. It's all kicked off because...
Opinion

Ryan Bridge: House prices no longer lead economic growth
Thursday, 19 February 2026, 6:25am
So the OCR decision was largely as expected yesterday, but what the Reserve Bank made very clear is where they think growth...
Opinion

Ryan Bridge: Here we go again with nonsense on mining
Tuesday, 3 February 2026, 6:14am
The same crowd who moan and complain when we don't have enough cash to upgrade schools or pay teachers and nurses more are...
Opinion

Ryan Bridge: What was the point in Fees Free?
Thursday, 29 January 2026, 6:15am
Reading this story this morning about Fees Free, you've got to wonder how the policy got through the boffins in Wellington. It...
Opinion

Perspective with Ryan Bridge: There's a time and a place to protest
Friday, 23 January 2026, 7:20pm
Now, have a listen to this. This happened in Thames this morning as the Prime Minister arrived to go and check on the damage...
Opinion

Perspective with Ryan Bridge: Does JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon have a point about AI?
Thursday, 22 January 2026, 7:29pm
If you don't know him, Jamie Dimon is the boss of JP Morgan and quite a smart guy, obviously. I've mentioned him a few times...
Opinion

Perspective with Ryan Bridge: Is this National's election to lose?
Wednesday, 21 January 2026, 7:43pm
So we've got an election date, and it's the date pundits have been picking since late last year - November 7th. This election...
Opinion

Perspective with Ryan Bridge: Will Wegovy really solve everything?
Tuesday, 20 January 2026, 7:20pm
I was at the movies recently and the first three ads that came up in the shorts beforehand were pretty interesting. We had...
Opinion

Perspective with Ryan Bridge: Win for truckies, loss for coastal shipping
Friday, 12 December 2025, 7:02pm
On the face of it, this coastal shipping decision from James Meager seems like an odd one. It's a win for truckies, like...
Opinion

Perspective with Ryan Bridge: These RMA changes hit the nail on the head
Tuesday, 9 December 2025, 7:25pm
These RMA changes hit the nail on the head by putting private property rights front and centre. These rights are basically...
Opinion

Perspective with Ryan Bridge: We're not solving the big problems, and we don't want to
Monday, 8 December 2025, 7:06pm
I’ve had it with people running around pretending we’re going to solve big global problems. Australia’s banning kids from...
Opinion

Perspective with Ryan Bridge: Chris Bishop has done a Tory Whanau
Tuesday, 18 November 2025, 7:08pm
The story about Chris Bishop and the funding switcheroo is mostly a beat up, I think, and nobody will care. He's the Housing...
Opinion

Ryan Bridge: How are the India FTA talks going?
Friday, 7 November 2025, 6:16am
So we've had a fifth round of talks with India on a free trade agreement. A senior government minister's in town with 42...
Opinion

Ryan Bridge: Our free trade ideology is under threat
Thursday, 30 October 2025, 6:52am
You know how we're a free trade country? It’s our thing. We export, we earn, we sell, we get richer. And we want open supply...
Opinion

Ryan Bridge: We've been reminded our present day politicians aren't up to much
Friday, 17 October 2025, 6:15am
It's hard listening to all the tributes for Jim Bolger and not feeling like we're being short-changed by our current crop...
Opinion

Ryan Bridge: The silence was deafening in our local elections
Monday, 13 October 2025, 6:29am
If the Coalition was looking for an endorsement of its rates cap idea, it got one over the weekend. Of the 18 councils that...
Opinion

Ryan Bridge: Is the work of activists making a difference?
Wednesday, 8 October 2025, 6:03am
Regular listeners will know, when it comes to free speech, I'm into it. How else do we get smarter but to debate ideas,...
Opinion

Ryan Bridge: We need more than agriculture to be successful
Wednesday, 1 October 2025, 6:31am
There’s nothing quite like watching a well-thought-out strategy come together and work. And hats off to South Korea this...
Opinion

Ryan Bridge: We need long term thinking for our health system
Tuesday, 30 September 2025, 6:18am
Health has always been a portfolio MPs never want a bar of. You never win. Endless fights with the unions. People waiting...
Opinion

Ryan Bridge: New Zealand needs a grow spurt
Tuesday, 16 September 2025, 6:17am
I’ve had it with people whinging about state of this county and people fleeing to Australia who then refuse to stop and ask...
Opinion

Ryan Bridge: Is funding major events a priority?
Monday, 15 September 2025, 6:09am
There's no doubt punters will like this new major events fund. $70-million of new and old money. Some for infrastructure...