There's little doubt there's unnecessary spend at the Transport Agency. 

The Transport Minister's called NZTA's costs eye-watering and excessive, after revealing a near $800 million spend over the past three years. 

That went to road cones, traffic management, state highway maintenance, and capital works. 

Temporary Traffic Management Chair Dave Tilton told Ryan Bridge he believes it's a systemic issue around how much temporary traffic management is deployed. 

He says it's a prescriptive system, which doesn't give room for site-specific considerations. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

There's little doubt there's unnecessary spend at the Transport Agency.&nbsp;
The Transport Minister's called NZTA's costs eye-watering and excessive, after revealing a near $800 million spend over the past three years.&nbsp;
That went to road cones, traffic management, state highway maintenance, and capital works.&nbsp;
Temporary Traffic Management Chair Dave Tilton told Ryan Bridge he believes it's a systemic issue around how much temporary traffic management is deployed.&nbsp;
He says it's a prescriptive system, which doesn't give room for site-specific considerations.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Dave Tilton: Temporary Traffic Management Chair on NZ Transport's $800 million spend

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/558710ea-802a-4ce9-aeb3-b22e015bc57b/transcript

I've got an amazing wonder drug to tell you about New Zealand, and it saved me in the last couple of weeks. 

People are talking about it from top of the country to the bottom and it's not Ozempic. 

No, I'm not taking Ozempic, though, I wouldn't mind trying it. I think a lot of people are curious. 

David Seymour made this drug a priority. Yes, I'm talking about pseudoephedrine. 

I felt sick, I took it, the symptoms disappeared. 

I had a wedding recently and people said they wouldn't have come without it. 

What must it be doing for our productivity as well?  Fewer sick days. 

I spoke to a friend of mine who's a mum, she's got young kids, and you send your kid to daycare, they get all the bugs under the sun, they bring the germs home. The kids are gross and they pass it on to mum and dad. 

Mum and dad go down like flies, they take time off work, et cetera, et cetera. And then bam, pop the miracle drug. Pseudo mums and pseudo dads. 

So they are absolutely over the moon about this. It's the drug we forgot we needed, isn't it? 

I said to my friend, what about the meth addicts? Because that's the argument, you know, the meth addicts will get it and then they'll cook it up and it could be stolen. 

It's the precursor to p and she said, I don't care, they'll find it anyway. And I just need to get through my work week and get the kids to school. 

So thank you David Seymour for Pseudoephedrine. And thank you to Big Pharma. It's really underrated Big Pharma, a lot of people give it a hard time. 

It's like big oil, you know, just sometimes they do good things. 

So cheers to whoever it is that makes it. 

This opinion piece was originally published August 30, 2024. 

I've got an amazing wonder drug to tell you about New Zealand, and it saved me in the last couple of weeks.&nbsp;
People are talking about it from top of the country to the bottom and it's not Ozempic.&nbsp;
No, I'm not taking Ozempic, though, I wouldn't mind trying it. I think a lot of people are curious.&nbsp;
David Seymour made this drug a priority. Yes, I'm talking about pseudoephedrine.&nbsp;
I felt sick, I took it, the symptoms disappeared.&nbsp;
I had a wedding recently and people said they wouldn't have come without it.&nbsp;
What must it be doing for our productivity as well? &nbsp;Fewer sick days.&nbsp;
I spoke to a friend of mine who's a mum, she's got young kids, and you send your kid to daycare, they get all the bugs under the sun, they bring the germs home. The kids are gross and they pass it on to mum and dad.&nbsp;
Mum and dad go down like flies, they take time off work, et cetera, et cetera. And then bam, pop the miracle drug. Pseudo mums and pseudo dads.&nbsp;
So they are absolutely over the moon about this. It's the drug we forgot we needed, isn't it?&nbsp;
I said to my friend, what about the meth addicts? Because that's the argument, you know, the meth addicts will get it and then they'll cook it up and it could be stolen.&nbsp;
It's the precursor to p and she said, I don't care, they'll find it anyway. And I just need to get through my work week and get the kids to school.&nbsp;
So thank you David Seymour for Pseudoephedrine. And thank you to Big Pharma. It's really underrated Big Pharma, a lot of people give it a hard time.&nbsp;
It's like big oil, you know, just sometimes they do good things.&nbsp;
So cheers to whoever it is that makes it.&nbsp;
This opinion piece was originally published August 30, 2024.

Best of 2024: Ryan Bridge - Thank you to David Seymour and Big Pharma

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/db3536a0-75da-4047-a619-b24e0152a235/transcript

Guilty verdicts have been reached in France's mass rape trial.  

Dominique Pelicot's been jailed for 20 years after drugging and raping his wife Gisele and inviting dozens of strangers to do the same for over nearly a decade.  

He was also found guilty of taking indecent images of his daughter and his two daughters-in-law.  

Of the other 50 men on trial, 46 were found guilty of rape, two of attempted rape, and two of sexual assault. 

Europe Correspondent Vincent McAviney told Andrew Dickens that there’s been some disappointment around the sentences for the other men, as they received sentences of between 5 and 8 years.  

LISTEN ABOVE 

Guilty verdicts have been reached in France's mass rape trial. &nbsp;
Dominique Pelicot's been jailed for 20 years after drugging and raping his wife Gisele and inviting dozens of strangers to do the same for over nearly a decade. &nbsp;
He was also found guilty of taking indecent images of his daughter and his two daughters-in-law. &nbsp;
Of the other 50 men on trial, 46 were found guilty of rape, two of attempted rape, and two of sexual assault.&nbsp;
Europe Correspondent Vincent McAviney told Andrew Dickens that there’s been some disappointment around the sentences for the other men, as they received sentences of between 5 and 8 years. &nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Vincent McAviney: Europe Correspondent on the sentencing of the men involved in France's mass rape trial

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/ccf30289-ec40-4e96-9bb6-b24b015bd1d1/transcript

The Government's teaming up with the private sector to get on top of text scams. 

When people report scam texts as junk on some phones, text messages will soon go directly to the Department of Internal Affairs. 

It can then share the info with telcos so they can be blocked. 

Rush Digital founder and chief executive Danu Abeysuriya told Andrew Dickens we have to work together to solve this problem. 

He sees it as a good approach because if you get a few reports of spam, thousands of further texts can be blocked. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

The Government's teaming up with the private sector to get on top of text scams.&nbsp;
When people report scam texts as junk on some phones, text messages will soon go directly to the Department of Internal Affairs.&nbsp;
It can then share the info with telcos so they can be blocked.&nbsp;
Rush Digital founder and chief executive Danu Abeysuriya told Andrew Dickens we have to work together to solve this problem.&nbsp;
He sees it as a good approach because if you get a few reports of spam, thousands of further texts can be blocked.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE&nbsp;

Danu Abeysuriya: Rush Digital founder on the new measures from the Government, private sector to combat text scams

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/39638e82-e148-4a18-a44c-b24b014cade2/transcript

Dave Tilton: Temporary Traffic Management Chair on NZ Transport's $800 million spend

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