A bittersweet result for Contact Energy’s shareholders.

The energy company released their half-year results yesterday, recording a 44% rise in net profit.

But it's now in a trading halt while it starts raising capital for more renewable energy projects.

Shareholders Association CEO Oliver Mander told Ryan Bridge Contact is unlikely to be the last to announce a capital raise – with more likely coming up later in the year.

He says it’s important for current shareholders to make an active decision going forward, as there’s no value gained by simply doing nothing.

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The business events sector's working to bump up our international multi-day conferences, which are currently lagging behind domestic bookings.

A Business Events Industry Aotearoa report shows events contributed $925 million to the economy last year.

Multi-day conferences generated approximately 1.5-million visitor nights for accommodation, nationwide.

BusinessNZ Advocacy Director Catherine Beard told Ryan Bridge if you want to attract events you have to have good venues that are big enough to take big conferences – like the new International Conference Centre in Auckland.

She says it’s a bit like stadium shows for major music acts – if you don’t have the events and can’t draw the crowds, you’re going to miss out.

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast 2025, The government’s ordered an independent review over what happened at Wellington Water’s Moa Point, Mayor Andrew Little tells Ryan what he hopes will come out of it.

A new report shows business conferences contributed nearly $1 billion to the kiwi economy last year, Business NZ Advocacy Director Catherine Beard shares her thoughts.

Contact Energy posted a half year net profit increase of 44% to $205 million, Shareholders Association CEO Oliver Mander provides analysis.

Plus, Australia Correspondent Donna Demaio has the latest on the alleged Bondi terror gunman’s first court appearance and a major supermarket chain accused of misleading customers, faces court action.

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

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Wellington Mayor Andrew Little says everyone is now in the hands of central government, as an inquiry is announced into the catastrophic failure at the Moa Point Water Treatment Plant.

A Crown Review team's being appointed to look into the failure of Wellington's wastewater facility.

Little was met with clear frustration from locals at a lack of clear answers at a public meeting on the issue in Kilbirnie last night.

He told Ryan Bridge people need the chance to express their anger, but says the review is now a matter for ministers.

He says they need to figure out what happened as a matter of public confidence.

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It's like a hungry child screaming for more food, even though you've just fed them dinner and pudding.

Across the Tasman, Jim Chalmers, the Aussie Treasurer is facing high debt and deficit. They've managed to achieve the highest level of spending to GDP of any government in 40 years outside the pandemic. Sound familiar?

To deal with this, the IMF has just told them they should cut their cloth.

They've also suggested the Federal government may need to bail out some states who are also weighed down by the Double Ds of post-Covid governance. Debt and deficit.

Let's not forget this is the lucky country. The one that's been firing on cylinders we don't even have. The Flying Aussie Roos, it turns out, haven't quite been putting away for a rainy day despite making hay while the sun shines.

So, what do they do?

There's a report out from the Australian this morning that they're considering taxing more.

Remember they already have a capital gains tax, the thing we don't have but Labour's promising her to introduce.

But they have a discount on it for assets held for at least a year - once you flick it off you get half off the tax.

Their Treasurer has apparently been keen on getting rid of this discount before. And not ruling it out now.

It bring them an extra $10billion in revenue.

So when parties here say they'll solve our problems with new taxes, is that the end of the story? Or does the insatiable beast come back for more?

This is a problem unique to government. In private business, as you well know, you only put prices up so high in order to cover costs.

People have choice about what they buy and they might put you out of business. So you cut costs. You innovate. You change and adapt to remain competitive.

Government's can raise taxes indefinitely.

The problem with some of them is that, given the chance, they would.

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Hopes new events settings coming to Eden Park stadium will bring more foot traffic through Auckland's city-centre.

The stadium will be allowed to host up to 12 large and 20 medium-sized concerts a year under the changes - without the need for resource consent.

This will bring the total of concerts allowed up from the current 12.

Night-time sport will also be allowed on any day, as long as the games finish by 10.30pm.

Heart of the City CEO Viv Beck told Ryan Bridge she thinks back to the Metallica concert last year - and the buzz that it brought to the city.

She says fans stayed around for days - and were queuing round the block for merchandise.

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On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Monday 16th of Feburary 2025, The Government's allowing Eden Park to host 22 concerts a year, on any day, without the need for resource consent, Heart of the City CEO Viv Beck shares her thoughts.

Labour’s laying down conditions on the FTA with India, Beef and Lamb Chair Kate Acland tells Ryan what it will take to get the deal across the line.

Andrew Alderson has the latest on the weekend's sport.

Plus, UK/Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey has the latest on the UK and Europe accusing the Kremlin of assassinating Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and a water leak at the Louvre that caused damage to 19th century painting.

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

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Full credit to Tom Slingsby at the Aussies on their victory over the weekend.

It obviously didn’t hurt that the Black Foils and Burling, and the French, crashed out.

It was brutal to watch.

I was at the racing on Saturday in the grandstand and up close, you get a sense of how fast they’re going and how close they are to one another.

And that’s what makes it such a thrill. You’re not meant to say that, but everybody there on Saturday was as hyped about the near-misses and close calls as they were about the results and actual racing.

That's human nature. You can’t look away from a car crash.

It’s the same reason UFC is nipping at the heels of boxing and Run If Straight is now a thing people watch and get paid for.

We like the excitement of somebody possibly getting hurt or injured. Throw in the fact athletes take the risks, hopefully calculated ones, and come out victorious… and you have yourself an afternoon of entertainment.

There’s skill and talent and technology involved, no doubt. But you wouldn’t turn up to watch a Sail GP boat race itself.

The question is whether people will still be thrilled by a split-fleet format with fewer boats jostling for position, which is a move that was apparently on the cards anyway.

And if this is the first of many safety improvements, how different will the competition look and feel?

Look at what happened to rugby union when safety overtook entertainment.

If you don’t give people action, they go find it elsewhere.

Now, don't get me wrong. I’m not saying I want crashes galore and let’s throw caution to the wind and create the equivalent of bumper cars on water, but it must surely be something organiser will be thinking about.

And as for Burling, did he push it too far? If he executed the exact same race and won without crashing, nobody would be complaining.

But that’s the thing about this competition, it’s fractions of technology, weather and conditions that make a difference. There's talk his rudder failed him. Was that driver-inducted failure or just bad luck?

Nobody wins playing safe. And people don’t watch sport for its safety features.

At the same time, to win a race you’ve got to finish it. And that lesson, more than any change to the rules, might be what slows drivers like Burling down a touch in future.

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