Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

The state of Palestine is recognised as a sovereign nation by 157 UN member states, and that represents 81% of members. New Zealand is not one of them. Not yet. Like Singapore, like Japan, Germany, South Korea, most Pacific states. New Zealand says, oh, sure, we support recognition, just not yet. Winston Peters, in his speech to the UN over the weekend, said Palestine did not meet the traditional...

Good news for renters as prices are on the decline.  At least a third of those taking out new tenancies this year are paying less in rent than the prior tenants, according to Ministry of Housing and Urban Development data.  TradeMe Property has also seen rents fall, with supply outstripping demand. They say the market is offering more options and less competition.   New Zealand Prop...

If you're a renter, it's jolly good news. At least a third of people taking out new tenancies this year are paying less rent than the tenants who lived there before them.   According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, for new tenancies since January 1, 30% were paying weekly rent lower than the initial weekly rent for the previous tenancy at that address. The data used a 500-da...

New Zealand Inc. is in trouble and it's on us —you and me— to fix it. Not politicians, not economists, not even our blessed farmers who've got us out of trouble time and time again – it is on us, New Zealand voters.  It doesn't matter whether we vote left or right, red, blue, green, yellow, or black. We all have to give our political parties the cojones they need to enact the policies that wi...

A former Finance Minister's discussing the Superannuation age in the wake of an alarming Treasury report.  Treasury's long term fiscal statement notes the importance of responding to challenges with an ageing population.  It suggests the cost of NZ Super could be kept stable by steadily increasing the age of eligibility, requiring it to rise to 72, by 2065.  Steven Joyce told Kerre...

I have to say that the Herald's Mood of the Boardroom survey pretty much sums up my mood too. Yes, there are some excellent and capable ministers doing great work within their portfolios, and let's not forget how rare and wonderful that is, given the past administration. Come in Erica Stanford, Winston Peters, Chris Bishop, Simeon Brown – all good performers, all doing well, all delivering.  ...

Infrastructure in New Zealand is being called out for being too political.  A significant jolt to the construction sector thanks to Government investment to hospital and school infrastructure.  Almost half a billion dollars will go towards upgrades and maintenance projects across the country.  Construction activity is at a six year low, with thousands of jobs lost in the last two ye...

The Government hopes to give a much-needed boost to the building and construction industry with the announcement of $413 million worth of accelerated school infrastructure projects. This follows a raft of school property announcements and the establishment of a new school property agency in July to oversee the planning, building, and maintenance of new school buildings.   Hopefully, there wil...

Is there anything good about pine trees? Apart from for the people who own the commercial forests, the foresters. What earthly good do they do? Sure, they bring in much-needed export earnings, an estimated $5.89 billion for the year ending June 2025. So that helps towards the GDP. But look at the costs associated with the Pinus radiata. And they're mainly on the taxpayer, not on the industry itsel...

Wilding pines, the invasive species also known as Pinus contorta, are posing a massive threat to the environment. It was highlighted on Country Calendar last by Steve Satterthwaite, who runs Muller Station in the Awatere Valley in Marlborough. He said the wilding pines don't just choke up pastoral land, there's also the downstream effect of  loss of water yield into the rivers, and in Marlbor...

It’s the last days of Art in the Park this weekend – a uniquely curated art show held annually at Eden Park.  It showcases the works of both emerging and established New Zealand artists.   The King’s Trust has been the charity partner of the event for the last four years – an organisation formed in 1967 with the vision that every young person should have the chance to succeed.  It’s...

The news came in around quarter to 11 yesterday, and it was unwelcome confirmation of what many people had been experiencing, had been feeling. The economy had contracted, and worse, it had shrunk 0.9%, far worse than economists had been predicting.   Economists at the Reserve Bank had forecast the economy would shrink just 0.3% during the June quarter. Retail banks said, "Oh, I don't think s...

How much blame for the GDP drop can be placed at the feet of the Reserve Bank?  GDP's fallen 0.9 percent in the June quarter – a much sharper drop than economists had been expecting.  NZ Initiative Chief Economist Eric Crampton told Kerre Woodham what we’re feeling is an effect of getting inflation back in line, but he wouldn’t necessarily blame the Reserve Bank for the drop.  He sa...

Back when I was a kid, you knew the school holidays were coming up when the Seafarers Union went on strike. Sure as God made little apples, a week before the school holidays, the unions would be all out, brothers and sisters, and then there'd be all night negotiations between the cloth caps and the capitalist overlords, while parents waited anxiously to see if the annual road trip —south in our ca...

The country's getting up to scratch on teaching Kiwis how to manage possible lone wolf attackers in crowded spaces.  Police are promoting the mantra 'escape, hide, tell' to show the public what to do during an attack.   The Crowded Places Strategy includes information on how to detect possible attackers, and how to conduct security audits.   Auckland's Newmarket Business Association...

Our economy's been shrinking much faster than economists thought.  Latest data just out from Stats NZ shows GDP fell 0.9% in the three months to June.  That follows six months of growth, after six months of contraction.  Infometrics Chief Forecaster Gareth Kiernan told Kerre Woodham it's far worse than any economists were expecting.  He says this number is completely "off the c...

Shane Jones' warning was clear and concise. As of 2029, if no new gas fields are found or an alternative energy source is not found, there will be no gas available for industrial, commercial, and domestic use.   “In simple terms, what's going to happen in 2029-2030 in the event that we either don't import gas, or we don't find a major find, is that the demand will still be there, but the supp...

When US conservative activist and media personality Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on Wednesday, a lot of people had an awful lot to say.   Those on the right of the spectrum mourned the senseless violence and deplored the actions of the left. Many of those on the left rejoiced, were gleeful. And there's no other word for it when you look at some of the posts on social media.   For oth...

Of the many, many insane, ideologically driven policies I have heard come from government departments over the years, this has got to be one of the most bonkers.  There have been times over the years, when I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, when I've fantasised about ending up in hospital. Nothing life-changing or dramatic, just a nice routine operation, five days in a lovely quiet ward. Crisp...

Health NZ is planning to remove restrictions on visiting hours at hospitals.   The change would allow family members to visit patients at any hour of the day, a move that has led to mixed responses.   Health NZ National Chief Nurse Nadine Gray told Kerre Woodham that the change is part of a patient support policy.  ‘It’s part of the code of patients’ rights to have support.’  L...

Now, long-time listeners will know that I have said, I do say, and I will undoubtedly in the future say stupid things. In a career spanning decades, we are talking live on stage or live on air, television or radio. When you're going for the snappy one-liner and you're pushing the language out and you're trying to be clever and you're trying to be funny, a lot of the time you're operating on instin...

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has released a cabinet paper proposing a raft of changes to the Crimes Act. This is part of the coalition agreement with NZ First. It introduces new offences and strengthens existing ones. The proposals include a new strict liability offence for shoplifting, with a $500 infringement fee, doubling to $1,000 if the value of the stolen goods is more than $500.   I...

The cost of alcohol abuse in this country is absolutely phenomenal. Worldwide, I can't even imagine what it would be, but here in this country it's bad enough. A report that came out last year from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, the first of its kind since 2009, found that:  The cost of alcohol abuse in terms of alcohol harm based on disability adjusted life years is $9.1 bil...

New Zealand has long had a problem with alcohol abuse.   A report last year from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research found that the total estimated harm from alcohol use costs $9.1 billion in a single year.  Peter Dunne argues the costs are a result of a decades-long failure in policy – saying that we need to do away with broad stroke approaches and target those prone to binge...

ANZ's New Zealand boss says the bank has no major restructure plans on this side of the Tasman.  The Australian banking group has announced plans to axe about 3,500 in-house roles and 1000 contractors.  Its New Zealand arm says about 20-30 mostly head-office roles might be cut here.  But Chief Executive Antonia Watson told Kerre Woodham it's part of a normal review of efficiencies,...