Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

The Access and Choice Programme, biggest investment in mental health in a generation, has now been in place for five years. The Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission released its final report on the programme rollout yesterday. The programme was funded from the 2019 wellbeing budget. You'll remember that, where more than a billion dollars, nearer to $2 billion, was committed to mental health supp...

Slow and steady improvements in mental health and addiction service access.   Minister Matt Doocey's latest quarterly target updates have been released and show a small increase in the proportion of people being seen by specialist and primary services in under a month.   However shorter ED department stays are still far below the 95% target, rising slightly to 65%.   Doocey told Ker...

Our Government is asking the US for more details on its new import rules for New Zealand.  Donald Trump's announced 10% tariffs on almost all goods entering the country from around the world – including New Zealand.  Many countries face much higher tariffs, with goods from China being hit by a combined 54% levy.  Trade Minister Todd McClay has confirmed officials are still seeking i...

Kiwis seem to be on the move.  Ministry of Housing and Urban Development data shows that half of New Zealand tenancies are less than two years old, and just 1% have been in place for more than 18 years.  The average tenancy is now 50 months long, up from 28 in 2010, and the median has reached 25, up from 14 in 2010.   Residential Property Managers Association Chairperson Tony Mitche...

Labour's leader says the US tariffs on New Zealand aren't justified in a retaliatory sense.   A US chart states New Zealand imposes 20% tariffs on US imports, and Chris Hipkins is wondering if this includes GST, which isn't a tariff.   He told Kerre Woodham New Zealand's one of the world's lowest no-tariff countries.  Hipkins also says New Zealand won’t just be impacted by the tarif...

Here we go again – the America’s Cup. How many times have you heard the debates for and against the America’s Cup? The Government, as you will have heard, has declined the opportunity to invest in hosting the America's Cup in 2027 and the usual arguments are raging over the wisdom or otherwise of that decision. Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU) chief executive Nick Hill said it was with great disapp...

Auckland's chance of hosting the next America's Cup has gone the way of the wind.  Auckland Unlimited confirmed yesterday that the city is unable to proceed with its bid for the 2027 event, as the Government isn’t contributing any funding.   AUT Sailing Professor and former world champion sailor, Mark Orams told Kerre Woodham that the professionalisation of sport has resulted in finances...

The war on road cones has ratcheted up, with the coalition government setting up a hotline for people to report the overzealous use of road cones and no, it's not an April Fool's joke. The hotline is part of a first tranche of measures introduced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden, designed to reform the country's health and safety laws so businesses can focus on the nece...

The Government announced a formal Request for Information looking into what it could take to bring a third supermarket chain to the country.  Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis isn't ruling out a major restructure as she says all options are on the table.  Monopoly Watch Research Director Tex Edwards talks to Kerre Woodham about the announcement.  LISTEN ABOVE.  See omnystu...

Law and order was a major concern of voters going into the 2023 Election – to be fair, it's usually on the minds of voters going into any election campaign, but particularly the last one.   Voters had had a guts full of doing things a different way. Of policing by consent, of giving authority to the gangs and then seeing them take over towns. We had guts full of seeing young kids ram raiding,...

Westport residents have been berating their council over a plan to move the flood-prone town.  Draft master planning began in 2023 on a proposal to move to Government-owned Pamu-Landcorp farmland southwest of the current settlement.  Buller Councillors yesterday voted to continue to the third stage.  Mayor Jamie Cleine told Kerre Woodham that step enables more conversations.  H...

What is this mania for the building of stadia when this country has so many already and very, very few of them are economic assets? The decision over whether to upgrade Eden Park in Auckland or to build a brand spanking new stadium on the waterfront is such an old debate. And before I go on, I will say I've been a guest of Eden Park, but it does take more to buy my opinion than a very nice lamb ch...

The Government's scrapping the Resource Management Act and replacing it with new planning laws.  RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop says current rules make it too hard to build the infrastructure and houses New Zealand desperately needs.  He says Cabinet's agreed on a blueprint for reform, which will standardise zoning and remove differences for each local council – aiming to implement it...

Is there any such thing as a completely fair tax system?   Surely the most you can hope for is a least unfair tax system. I ask this because a UN report is calling for countries to check taxes are being applied proportionally to the wealthiest individuals, and questioning the fairness of GST. The UN Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights said a tax policy that maintains a low pers...

A tax expert says achieving a fair tax system is hard, but not impossible.  A UN committee is calling on governments to check their tax policies are being applied proportionally to wealthier individuals.  It says regressive and ineffective policies could disproportionately affect low-income households, women, and disadvantaged groups.  Denton Tax Partner Bruce Bernacchi told Kerre W...

After 96 years, Western Spring's Speedway's final race will take place tomorrow night.  The Legends Night will be headlined by Midgets, Sprintcars, and other open-wheel categories.  In October last year, Auckland councillors voted 11-8 to move all speedway events to Waikaraka Park, which will undergo an $11 million upgrade.  Western Springs Speedway Manager John McCullum told Kerre...

A big bounce back for our economy, despite many sectors still doing it tough. New Zealand's officially out of technical recession, with new GDP figures showing our economy grew 0.7% between October and December. Economists had predicted a growth rate of just 0.3-to-0.5%. NZ Herald Business Editor Liam Dann told Kerre Woodham while some areas still look gloomy, the bounce back from tourism and agri...

Chris Small from ABC Business Sales summed up the business loan scheme beautifully on the Mike Hosking Breakfast this morning: it was a balls up that was going to, has indeed, and will continue to cost the country hundreds of millions of dollars.   Let me take you back to March 2020. Business loans were made available in May – the announcement was made in March for small businesses affected b...

A Kawerau paper mill has found a new power source as New Zealand struggles with a looming winter power crunch.  A newly released briefing to the Minister shows electricity supply is tight, and gas supply needs to be maintained until suitable alternatives are found.  Essity’s Kawerau Paper Mill has become the first in the world to create a machine that runs entirely on geothermal steam.&n...

Finance Minister Nicola Willis is looking at upping the amount employees and employers contribute to their KiwiSaver accounts.  She's seeking advice and taking advice on where we take KiwiSaver in the future. Commentator Shane Te Pou is saying we should be paying the same as they do in Australia where employer contributions are around 11%. Employers and Manufacturers Association Head of Advoc...

Next week will see three sporting codes play Eden Park in the span of four days.  A T20 international double header on Friday, a clash between the Blues and the Crusaders on Saturday, and then on Monday the stadium is hosting the FIFA Oceania Qualifier.  It’s a massive undertaking for the grounds staff, involving months of planning.  Eden Park Turf Manager Blair Christiansen told Ke...

Speaking of the Investment Summit that's been convened by the government – or really the Prime Minister, because this Infrastructure Investment Summit is the PM's baby. What I really love is the positivity around it. It must be killing some media organisations, having to reluctantly spit out some good news. But there's optimism and there's hard bitten trillion-dollar asset fund managers saying yes...

When the Prime Minister is doing all the shake and howdy at the investment summit in Auckland, I bet he’ll be feeling like a harassed parent who —despite all the chaos behind the scenes— somehow manages to arrive at a family wedding with the kids in tow looking cool, calm and very happy to be there.   Even though one of the kids had been refusing to leave the house and you all had a big bust-...

Patriotism or profit.   Essentially, that’s what these changes the Government is making to the way it hires companies to do work for it come down to.   It’s like “Buy NZ-Made”. The Government wants to make it easier for local companies to get on its books. But what’s more important? Getting the cheapest price from (potentially) an overseas company or paying a bit more to hire a local com...

There's an old saying in advertising - to be successful you don't sell the sausage, you sell the sizzle. Christopher Luxon may have a great sausage, but he's not selling its sizzle. The Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll released yesterday afternoon had National up 1.7 points to 33.6%, but Labour had moved past it, jumping nearly three points to 34.1%. The Greens fell to 10%, down 3.2 points. ACT went do...