Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

No matter how meticulously you plan, there’s always a chance something will go wrong while travelling.  New data from Southern Cross Travel Insurance shows it’s often the small moments that end up costing the most, whether it’s a simple fall on a walking track or a broken bone before even leaving the country.  Chief Customer Officer Jess Strange told Kerre Woodham that as costs increase...

Have you done the sums yet to work out how much more you're going to have to pay, how much more you're going to have to find to pay the rates bill? We were talking before the show, for some of my colleagues it's an extra $45 per fortnight, they're in an apartment out of the main city. I can't even imagine how much the increase will be for people living in the leafy suburbs.  Auckland Council...

Fear the cost of living crisis may be getting worse for Aucklanders following the super city's largest ever rates increase.   The 7.9% rise will see the average ratepayer's bill increase by $320 a year.   The Auckland Ratepayer's Alliance says the council's budget is bloated and it needs to focus on cutting costs, and they already hear from people on fixed incomes and pensioners struggli...

Thirty years ago, I was the station manager and breakfast announcer at a very small experimental talk station in Auckland called ‘The Point’ on 1476 AM. It lasted for about three years. It was a lot of fun. Now I mention this because I clearly remember 30 years ago a morning when we discussed what happens to New Zealand when the Maui and Kapuni gas runs out, because even then scientists were warni...

I was in the Coromandel over the weekend and I was reading their regional paper which still exists, The Informer, and in it was an article by Jeffrey Robinson, who's a local affairs reporter with decades of experience, and he points out the debate that is happening all over the country. The government is ending New Zealand's two tier regional and district council system, it has to happen by 2028 a...

The Government has unveiled a major overhaul of social housing, creating both winners and losers.  So what is social housing? Social housing provides subsidized rental properties for those who cannot afford private rentals. Homes are managed by Kāinga Ora or various Community Housing Providers (CHPs). Tenants typically pay an Income Related Rent. To qualify, you must be a New Zealand citizen...

Let's talk EVs. And I better make the declaration straight away; I am an EV driver. There is a new state of the nation report from an organisation called Drive Electric which has been released. It's calling for consistent cross-party support. The report shows just 11% of new vehicles registered in New Zealand are electric – that is down from 27% in 2023 when we had the rebate. But countries like N...

Let's start with the big story of the day: the Finance Minister yesterday unveiling a major plan to shrink the public service. It's putting thousands of jobs on the line, but it is booking, potentially, billion-dollar savings into this year's Budget. So the interesting thing about her announcement —there were precursors to this, so this is stuff we knew, but it's all brought it into focus— is the...

A five month old baby boy by the name of Bodhi lived in Hawke's Bay, and in October 2022 was found unresponsive in his sleeping pod. The sleeping pod was placed inside the cot. He was lying on his stomach. He had blankets around his face. His parents, distraught, immediately called emergency services, but he could not be revived and we lost Bodhi. And after these losses, of course, coroners then l...

The government has confirmed major changes to New Zealand’s secondary school qualification system, officially replacing NCEA with a new subject-based model. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Education Minister Erica Stanford announced the shift in Orewa, saying the current NCEA system is too complex and doesn’t clearly show how well students have mastered their subjects. From 2029, Year 12 stud...

The Blues are celebrating their 30th anniversary with their inaugural Blues Hall of Fame.  It’ll honour the legends, stories, and defining moments that have shaped the club since its inception in 1996.  The first class of inductees will be honoured at a formal lunch today.  Former All Blacks coach and Blues board member John Hart told Kerre Woodham that initially, while they catch u...

Obesity related illnesses, as you well know, cost this country a fortune. The direct healthcare costs of obesity, well, they estimated it at $2 billion per year, per year, and that was in 2021, so it'll be a hell of a lot more now. It's more difficult to calculate the total economic impact that obesity has on this country. Estimates range between $4 to $9 billion per year. It depends whether you i...

Are our patient consent rules making it harder to train the next generation of doctors?  An article in The Conversation argues that the strict requirement for patients to content to the involvement of junior doctors in their care is hindering medical training.   Author and Associate Professor of Primary Health Care and General Practice at Otago University, Dr Ben Gray says it’s limiting...

Guess what? New Zealand's in economic trouble. I know, I know, who would have thought it? Well, we did. You know it, I know it. We've known it for a very, very long time, right from the very start when Labour began throwing money around. There were the Cassandras coming on the radio saying, “Oh, you're going to have to pay it back. All very well and good now, probably the right thing to do, but at...

It will be the single biggest piece of infrastructure that New Zealand will build. Remember when Shane Jones' Northport was going to be the single biggest piece of infrastructure? Well, now that's gone the way of the dodo. So the single biggest piece of infrastructure that New Zealand will build in our lifetimes, will come when the Government makes the decision on what a new Auckland Harbour cross...

Judith Collins is bidding farewell to politics.  The senior National MP has delivered her valedictory speech, saying goodbye after 24 years in Parliament, as she prepares to move on to heading the Law Commission.  Collins held numerous ministerial portfolios in her time in politics and led National to the 2020 election.  She told Kerre Woodham she feels as though she’s done everythi...

We start this morning with something you already know: the number of New Zealanders moving to Australia is at its highest level in 12 years. And most of those moving are going to Australia – around 58% of those who are leaving say they're heading for Oz. Yet in the World Happiness Report, in terms of happiness, we rank ahead of Australia. We're 11th happiest, they come in at number 15 – the Nordic...

New figures reveal hundreds of Kiwi officers are continuing to head across the Tasman, nearly one in three police resignations are now linked to the move. But, the Police Commissioner didn't seem too worried when he spoke to Mike Hosking this morning, saying they prioritise quality over quantity.  Minister of Police Mark Mitchell told Kerre Woodham "of course we want to pay our frontline poli...

Well, Winston let the cat out of the bag on Friday afternoon with Heather du Plessis Allan. Oh, we're scrapping fees free in the third year, he said, you'll find that in the budget. And Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that yes indeed, the scheme will be ditched in the upcoming budget.  Those students completing their tertiary studies this year in their final year will remain elig...

New Zealand, according to the OECD, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, needs to reform the electricity sector, expand and strengthen capital markets, speed up digitisation of the health sector, and reform the pension. The OECD joined other international agencies in calling for the age of eligibility for super to be raised by indexing it to life expectancy with measures to t...

The Prime Minister's signalling he'd prefer a one-party Government, rather than a coalition.  Parties appear to be moving closer to campaign mode, announcing policies ahead of Election Day on November seventh.  The Government's also promising further cost-savings to be re-invested into the frontline ahead of this year's Budget.  Christopher Luxon told Kerre Woodham New Zealand First...

It looks like setting fire to small explosives in the backyard will be one of those wacky stories you'll tell the grandkids about. You were able to set fire to explosives, Grandma? In the backyard? In your own home you let off little bombs? Yes, we did. Those were the days. A Parliamentary Select Committee has finally backed a ban on the public sale and use of fireworks.   No one can really s...

The Icehouse is celebrating 25 years of powering Kiwi business growth.  They’re a non-profit dedicated to training and mentoring the small to medium enterprises that make up 97% of New Zealand’s economy.  And today is their Ignite Growth Summit, in which they bring together legendary founders who have gone from the garage to the global stage to inspire the next wave of business talent. &...

A brand-new podcast from the University of Auckland’s Centre for Brain Research, journalist Clare de Lore and Newstalk ZB, 'Brainstorming' launched today. Clare sits down with world-class scientists and those living with brain disorders, from dementia to CTE. She joined Kerre Woodham to explain further.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Government ministers gave councils an ultimatum yesterday: come up with your own plans for amalgamation within three months, or the Government will do it for you. Local Government Minister Simon Watts and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop said there was broad support from councils – some were already gung-ho and proceeding with plans to amalgamate. One of them is Nelson Mayor Nick Smith. He's long...