Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

The Government's intends to entirely phase out NCEA within five years. The proposal would require students take English and Maths in Year 11 and sit a test in numeracy and literacy. NCEA levels 2 and 3 would be replaced with two new qualifications in year 12 and 13 - a Certificate of Education and Advanced Certificate of Education respectively. It's the most significant update to secondary school...

Household budgets remain under pressure from rising costs, a credit expert says.  Centrix’s latest credit indicator shows consumer arrears fell by 7,000 in June to 478,000, representing 12.36% of the credit-active population.  But Centrix managing director Keith McLaughlin said there has been an increase in pressure on household budgets: “The slight year-on-year improvement in arrears we...

Let's face it, civil defence coordinators are damned if they do, damned if they don't. Fail to give people sufficient warning of a natural disaster and they're accused of having blood on their hands. Too many warnings of something that doesn't happen, they're accused of alarmist scaremongering, and they become the boy who cries wolf.   The reason for all of this, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake st...

The Civil Defence Minister is staunch on the need for mobile emergency alerts.  An alert sent at 6.30am warned people to stay away from water, beaches, harbours, marinas, and estuaries - with uncertain sea conditions triggered by yesterday's massive Russia quake.  It applies until further notice.  But many received multiple messages, and others got none.  Mark Mitchell told Ker...

Gang membership is on the rise, but if you believe Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Basham, an increase in numbers is not necessarily a bad thing. Gang numbers have climbed past 10,000, up from 9,200 in 2023, but that might be, he says, because they're keeping a closer eye on gangs, their intelligence is better, they know who's in and who's out, the record keeping and the data is better. He told...

There is much that this coalition government is dealing with that is not of their own making – they are mopping up, cleaning up the mess. Then there are the own goals that should not be happening 18 months into office – and I would argue that the announcement trumpeted yesterday afternoon is an example of an own goal.   The Government is planning to ban merchants from adding surcharges to in-...

BNZ is taking advantage of the Government’s ban on in-store card surcharges to promote its new banking platform.  Payap, an open banking platform, allows customers to pay directly from their bank account.   It provides a lower-cost alternative with transaction fees of just 0.39% or 0.59%, and is compatible with all major NZ banks.  BNZ Head of Payment Development Jonathan Dale told...

Politicians rely on voters having short memories. They all do it.   Politicians and governments get swept out of power, they fester away on the opposition benches, and then a year before the next election, they make sweeping statements and promises about what they'll do if voters have the good sense to put them in.  Chris Hipkins is no different from every other party.  A lot of peo...

Election Day is like Christmas Day, with some of us not getting ourselves organised until the very last minute - even though we’ve known for ages that it’s happening.   Christmas day is never sprung on us. We know it happens every 12 months, but there’s a lot of last-minute panicking, isn’t there?   We get even more warning with Election Day. We know it happens every three years, but the...

Homelessness has increased, but by how much is unclear, according to a government report.  This is the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development's latest Homelessness Insights Report drawn from data in Census 2023, and observations collected from government agencies, councils, and the general good sorts in the sector.  The report defines homelessness as living situations where people are...

It appears we're living in an age where it's okay for politicians to swear to the press. Donald Trump is leading the way, dropping the F bomb over Russia and using the word bullshit more often than anyone ever had.  It's a sign of the times, and you could argue it makes politicians more relatable because heaven knows we're all a lot more potty mouth in private. But you could also say that lea...

We all know we need more doctors. A lot more. Considering how long it takes to train a doctor, this is something that someone should have probably thought about 20 or 30 years ago. New Zealand's population has doubled since the last med school was opened, so you can see how far behind we are.  But now we have a proposed new medical school in the Waikato.  This was dreamed up last elector...

Inflation's cooling in many corners of the economy, but not headline inflation. Latest Stats NZ figures suggest core inflation and domestically-driven non-tradeable inflation are trending downwards. But annual inflation has risen to 2.7 percent, up from 2.5 three months ago. NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann says these figures will provide relief for the Reserve Bank, as they work on ge...

So here we go again. A national conversation about whether NCEA is C.R.A.P A damning Government briefing presented in June has raised significant concerns about the credibility of New Zealand’s main secondary school qualification. It’s worried about the flexibility built into NCEA, including regarding what assessments students sit, means courses can be structured around those perceived to be “easi...

A late night safe zone has found success in Wellington, and is being brought to Auckland.  For the past eight years, Take 10, an initiative run by Vulnerable Support Charitable Trust (VSCT), has been offering a late-night safe zone on Wellington’s Courtenay Place.  Now, with the support of Auckland Council, the volunteer-run initiative is launching a 10 week pilot in Auckland’s city cent...

There’s no doubt the news that the number of people on a benefit in New Zealand is up to the 400,000 mark will have some people tut-tutting.    But before we start ripping into the so-called “benefit bludgers”, we need to be very careful.   Because at the same time that we’re finding out that benefit numbers are up —and the number of people on the dole in particular— 10% compared to...

Around about 30 years from now the AI bot, who will be presenting the 9am to midday show, will announce breathlessly that single-cell classes are to be done away with and open plan classrooms are planned for future school builds to allow greater collaboration between students and teachers. A more relaxed style of learning, yadda yadda yadda – what do you think? 0800 80 10 80, the AI bot will say,...

The Education Minister's stressing schools can still be flexible as the Government pulls the plug on open plan classrooms.  It was introduced by John Key's Government in 2011.  Erica Stanford announced yesterday all new builds will now have more traditional layouts.  She told Kerre Woodham there are good examples in the best modern learning environments.  She’s also looking int...

Over 8,000 divorces are filed in New Zealand annually, and the process isn’t cheap.   While the dissolution fee only costs $242, legal costs can reach into the thousands.  Many couples fall into the so-called ‘missing middle’ — earning too much to access legal aid, but not enough to afford private lawyers.  Australian divorce and separation lender JustFund has launched in New Zealan...

Just how well served or poorly served are we by the engineering and the design of our roads? Residents of Waiuku are reeling after a crash yesterday that has left an adult and two children dead. Some locals say they've been calling for safety measures to be introduced on Masters Rd, known as ‘roller coaster road’, for years.   One poor man who was first on the scene yesterday lost his best ma...

Yesterday we were talking about Chlöe Swarbrick's grand plans for economic reform, and today brings another interesting suggestion for economic reform, this time from Sir Roger Douglas and Professor Robert MacCulloch. I wonder if now is the time to be seriously looking at reforming our taxation system. Over the years, we've experimented with, we’ve dabbled in various taxes on wealth: estate duties...

Starting with some good news on a good news Monday, Health NZ added 2100 nurses and more than 600 doctors to its ranks since the election in March 2025, according to new figures published. The most recent health workforce data showed that as of March 2025, there were 35,341 nurses, 5188 resident medical officers, and 6419 senior medical officers -  both the categories of doctors. Not all of t...

The Nurses Union claims the Government has lost control of health, as more than 36,000 workers prepare to strike.  Te Whatu Ora nurses, midwives, and health care assistants will walk off the job for 24 hours at the end of this month. Nurses Organisation Chief Executive Paul Goulter says many members have voiced concerns over safety issues and staffing shortages - and change is needed. LISTEN...

Ray Chung has surely scuppered his chances of becoming Wellington's next mayor, hasn't he?   Although, given the way voters in Wellington tend to cast their ballots given their previous form, perhaps not. Chung has sent an email to three of his fellow councillors with the heading ‘A sordid night on the town”, in which he proceeded to pass on a story he heard from a neighbour while out dog wal...

Lizards living near the Macraes gold mine in Central Otago run the very real risk of becoming lizard skin boots on the feet of Resources Minister Shane Jones. The self-described Matua is on the warpath because hundreds of workers are at risk of being laid off after a decision by the Department of Conservation to reject an application by the country's largest gold mine owner. Macraes Goldman in the...