Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

Ah, another cold snap, another example of our power industry being unable to cope. I hope you all had cold showers and turned off the heated towel rails and ate cold gruel this morning to do your bit to reduce power consumption. The reason for the latest orange alert is that there has been a surge in demand and the wind turbines haven't been turning - yada, yada, yada. Different excuses same resul...

There are more calls to further lower the bowel cancer screening age.   An Otago University study shows rates of early onset colorectal cancer have risen by 26% each decade over the past 20 years.   Rates for Māori aged under 50 years rose 36%.   Professor Frank Frizelle told Kerre Woodham that the screening age needs to be lowered from the current age of 60 to at least 45.   He said that a lot of...

You have to wonder whether the strident critics of the coalition government ever stop and look at the facts. Maybe read the press releases. Listen to the interviews. Do they just see something coming from the office of the Honourable Shane Reti or the Honourable David Seymour and bin it? Hear Christopher Luxon on the wireless and just switch off and go “Oh! Can’t come bear it! Let me replay some o...

The Associate Education Minister says a revamped school lunches programme is better bang for buck.  Every student who received a free school lunch under the previous Government will still be fed, but the programme will save $107 million a year.   David Seymour told Kerre Woodham that instead of having multiple providers, schools will order lunches from an online portal.   He says they'll look less...

Lifeline is calling for a lifeline as they celebrate their 60 th anniversary.   The Mental Healthline is struggling to keep up with demand, taking around 7,000 calls and 20,000 texts a month.   On average, 17 people at high risk of self harm or suicide call Lifeline every day.   Presbyterian Support Northern is the charity behind Lifeline, CEO Dr Bonnie Robinson telling Kerre Woodham that while th...

You will remember there was some alarm in some quarters when the New Zealand Police Service announced they'd be looking to step back from attending calls from people in psychological distress.   Over the past decade police say the number of mental health events officers attend has increased by more than 150% to 77,043 in the past year. The vast majority of these were low to moderate risk and safet...

We thought we'd start with the announcement on law and order and Corrections, given that this was one of the big drivers for National and ACT, and indeed New Zealand First’s election campaigns, and one in which the coalition government was elected upon.   Still, when you've got a big announcement to make on law and order, one of the foundations of your government's policies, it does pay to get it...

A new policy guide for New Zealand schools, titled ‘Students and Social Transition: A Gender Identity Policy Guide’, has been emailed to schools across the country today.   It was created by Ethos, a charity that supports people with questions about freedom of conscience and belief.   Ethos had been contacted by a number of parents and schools with questions about the best way to help children exp...

Last week, I think it must have been Wednesday or Thursday, I was harrumphing and muttering away like Waldorf and Statler from The Muppets . I was doing a little bit of that while I was reading about the latest sewage spill into a waterway in Wellington Harbour. I'm like, how in this day and age, can this still be? This is an outrage - and Helen tries to tune it out until she hears her name, and I...

May is New Zealand Music Month, the theme for this year ‘Amplifying Aotearoa’, aiming to shine a light on those who are the heartbeat of the nation’s music scene.   One of the artists being highlighted is Tami Neilson, a country and soul singer-songwriter.   She’s fresh off a plane from Nashville where she paid tribute to Patsy Cline on the sacred stage of the Rhyman, rewarded with a standing ovat...

Remember the Tau Henare-Trevor Mallard stauch back in 2007?   Senior Cabinet Minister Trevor Mallard said the punch he threw at National MP Tau Henare is “one of the most stupid things I've ever done in my life” and in a life full of them, that's saying something. The scuffle broke out in the parliamentary lobbies. Allegedly, Henare had made some snide remarks about Trevor Mallard's personal life,...

Happy International Workers Day to all the labourers and workers out there. All right, brother. All right, sister. Dedicated to recognizing the contributions and achievements of workers worldwide and taking the opportunity to promote workers rights and opportunities so. Go us, all of us paid grunts.   MPs, would you consider them paid grunts? Not really public servants, sure, and reasonably well-p...

A former Labour Minister says a proposed pay rise for politicians gives them a real dilemma.   The Remuneration Authority's set to increase most MP salaries 10.5% over three years.   If implemented, it would be the first pay rise for MPs since 2017 and the first rise of 2.8% will be backdated to the election.   Stuart Nash told Kerre Woodham that the public tends to hear about poorly performing MP...

Unemployment has risen again but economists don't think it's peaked yet.   Stats NZ figures out today show the rate reached 4.3% for the March quarter, up 0.3 percentage points from the December quarter's 4%.   It reflects the impacts of higher interest rates as the Reserve Bank keeps trying to rein in inflation.   Herald Business Editor at Large Liam Dann told Kerre Woodham that it's a slow and s...

Well, the 1News Verian poll released last night shows that support for the coalition government, after seeing an operation for a few months, has dropped since election night. Hardly surprising. Well, to my mind. Anyway, clearly there were others who were simply gob smacked and amazed, but on to them in a moment.     National, ACT, and New Zealand First have collectively dropped 5 percentage points...

If you're a teenager addicted to your phone and the world that lies within and beyond your apps, it's the end of the world as you know it today.     The Government's ban on phones in schools kicks in as kids return to school for Term two, meaning students won't be able to use their cell phones during the day - including at lunch time and during breaks. Some schools have gone early and introduced i...

From today, new government regulations require students not to use or access a phone while they're attending school, including break times.   The legislated phone ban won't change much for Opunake High School as they have had a "Phones Off, Brains On" policy in place for a few years.   Principal Andrea Hooper Carr tells Kerre Woodham her school noticed a significant change in behaviours as the wav...

There is one thing I’ve never heard one of the old soldiers you always see or hear on the news on Anzac Day saying. There are less of them now, of course, as time passes, but, over the years, I have never heard one of them say they had a great time and that going to war was the time of their life. I’ve never heard it. And I bet you haven’t, either.   And that’s why you’re not going to hear me ripp...

Welcome to another war of words between the greenies and the government over changes to the Resource Management Act.   With the poor old farmers stuck in the middle, just wanting the chance to be trusted to do the right thing when it comes to protecting the environment. And that’s what I think we should be doing.   You know how people have this concept of Mother Nature and how it’s all peace and l...

Have you ever heard of a placebo policy? That’s what this Three Strikes law is, and I don’t think bringing it back is going to make one bit of difference.   You’ll know what a placebo is when it comes to things like clinical trials where they give someone a sugar pill but tell them it’s medicine, and the person says ‘oh I feel much better, thanks’.    The person thinks they’re using a real pill, o...

Well, the Reserve Bank has got what it wanted. Maybe not what it wanted, it's possibly the hard landing that they were hoping to avoid, but it got what it engineered.   Back in 2022 the Reserve Bank told a Select Committee that, yes, it was deliberately engineering a recession to rein back inflation after being slow to raise interest rates. Governor Adrian Orr said as a result of raising interest...

New Zealand police officers have overwhelmingly rejected the government's latest pay offer and have given the government one last chance to lift its game. The latest offer was put to the vote on April the 8th by the New Zealand Police Association. More than 75% voted against the offer. That is overwhelming. President Chris Cahill said the outcome sends a clear message to the government that the of...

Back in the day when I lived in Ponsonby and it was only just starting to evolve as a shopping and cafe destination, we didn't have beggars per say. More, they were people who were living in community houses who would walk up and down the street, and they were simply absorbed into the community.   They were given cigarettes from the smokers who were sitting at the outside tables of the cafes that...

Inflation is continuing to ease, particularly for essentials.   Latest Stats NZ figures show the Consumer Price Index increased 4% in the year to March, down from 4.7% in the year to December.   Housing's been the biggest contributor to inflation and rents rose at the fastest rate since records began in 1999.   But the Herald's Liam Dann says the cost of most other day-to-day essentials are going...

When I broke my arm just before the end of the year, I was very grateful to our health system for picking up the pieces, quite literally. They found a bit that was missing at the top of my arm that they weren't expecting, and put me back together again, and it's pretty much back to normal.   I'm very, very grateful for the skill, the ability and the kindness of North Shore Hospital, and I was grat...