Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

The long-awaited announcement around MIQ was made yesterday and yet again, people with loved ones overseas, people who are desperate to travel for business - people who just want to get off the island have been told to wait.    ‘Eventually’, ‘soon’, ‘shortly’, seemed to be the most used words in Chris Hipkins speech.   Sure, those who have been lucky enough to secure MIQ rooms will have their stay...

New Zealand Herald Political Reporter Thomas Coughlan has written a great breakdown of Three Waters and he joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVE     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is pushing forward with its overhaul to the governance of water.  The Three Waters reforms will see council-owned drinking, storm and waste-water services amalgamated into four regional bodies. They also announced yesterday it will be mandatory for councils to join the changes, removing the opt out clause. Dr Muriel Newman is the Director of the New Zealand Centre for Political Rese...

It was only a matter of time.  In fact, Chris Hipkins said that yesterday - it would only be a matter of time before Covid reached the South Island and it’s arrived;  via two members of the same household who had recently returned to Christchurch from Auckland.  There is very little information at this stage - we will be bringing places of interest to you as they come to hand - but the Covid 19 Re...

The Government is set to force through its Three Waters reforms, u-turning on a previous promise to make it voluntary for councils to join up to the amalgamation plan.  National party leader Judith Collins joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is set to force through its Three Waters reforms, u-turning on a previous promise to make it voluntary for councils to join up to the amalgamation plan. Act leader Daivd Seymour joined Kerre McIvor to discuss. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well, the PM sure came out thundering at yesterday's presser.    When I heard the extent to which she was going, with mandating vaccinations, I thought she has clearly had her people read the mood of the room.    You have 86% of the population with at least a first dose, 71% fully vaccinated. That is the vast majority of us.    That is the vast majority of New Zealanders who have said, yes, if the...

Well, crikey.    I hope those of you outside Auckland had a lovely Labour Weekend because it was a bit grim here to be honest.   The weather was absolutely atrocious and I really felt for those of you with small children.  And those who are living alone.    I find the weather really makes a difference to the way I feel and grey skies and lashing rain just reinforced the gloominess I felt after Fri...

An enhanced business support package has been unveiled as the country transitions to the new Covid-19 protection framework.  It was announced alongside that New Zealand will move to a new "traffic light" system when District Health Boards have 90 per cent of its eligible population vaccinated.  When each DHB hit this target, the new framework would come into effect. The traffic light system makes...

Now, this morning's announcement from the Prime Minister.   We had a bit of a debate yesterday afternoon about whether to take this live or not — the last thing we all want to listen to is a party political broadcast and a whole lot of flannel about how well the Government's done in rolling out vaccinations and kia kaha Auckland — great mahi coming off the motu.   We thought we might just edit it...

So yesterday’s special announcement sees senior school students being told to go back to school after Labour Weekend.   Education Minister Chris Hipkins says this will allow them to sit exams and finish NCEA assessments, something that has been worrying the many thousands of teenagers in Auckland and Waikato who've been locked out of their classrooms and attempting to study online.   All senior st...

Judith Collins is calling on the Government to adopt her party’s Covid policy.   National's plan includes cutting taxes for small businesses and workers and giving every vaccinated Kiwi a $100 hospitality or tourism voucher.   Collins told Kerre McIvor the Government needs to outline a plan, as its do-nothing approach is hurting hundreds of thousands of people.   She says National's plan provides...

It may be time to start Christmas shopping now. While most of us aren't even thinking about our Christmas plans yet, retail supplies are encouraging people to think about starting their Christmas shopping early, due to supply chain delays. Public Affairs Manager for Retail New Zealand Aimie Hines told Kerre McIvor that click and collect and shopping early are the best options amid the stock shorta...

Labour and National have joined forces behind a radical new housing policy, the Housing Supply Bill, which they say will help address the housing crisis by allowing as many as 105,500 new homes to be built in less than a decade.  The Government says the law will result in at least 48,200 and as many as 105,500 new homes built in the next five to eight years.  It would achieve this by allowing up t...

Well, we can't really moan about the government needing to do something about housing supply then grizzle when they come up with a solution, can we?  Especially when it comes in the form of a rare bipartisan agreement with National.    The deal will look to allow far more homes to be built in urban areas; houses like apartments and townhouses, in suburbs where only standard houses are allowed now....

Disappointment for small and medium businesses in Auckland saddled with debt. The region is staying under its current Alert Level 3 settings for a further two weeks with settings to be reviewed November 1. National leader Judith Collins says small business owners are on their knees in Auckland and around the country. Heart of the City Chief Executive Liv Beck told Kerre McIvor they need to see a s...

OK, so this morning.   I have a plan for the way the next three hours will go, and what I'll do is tell you a bit about how the first hour will go on Wednesday morning and then if you stay listening, I'll let you know what the show will look like on Friday.  K....?   Seriously.  I wasn't expecting much from the press conference yesterday but the government plumbed new lows.   Announcing that there...

The September inflation movement is the highest it's been in a generation. The Consumer Price Index rose 2.2 per cent in the September quarter — bringing annual inflation to 4.9 per cent. NZ Herald Business Editor Liam Dann told Kerre McIvor excluding quarters impacted by GST increases, it's the highest since June 1987. “That is a bit of a shock, surging past what economists had dared to forecast....

Thames-Coromandel Mayor Sandra Goudie has doubled down on her anti-Pfizer jab stance - adding she believes it is "absolutely wrong" that some people should be mandated to have the vaccine. Goudie went public this week saying she won't be being vaccinated until the Novovax vaccine is used, potentially, in New Zealand. At present, the Pfizer vaccine is used in the nationwide roll-out. That stance ha...

The Government is confident there'll be a good bounce-back when the country emerges from Covid-19 restrictions, because its books are in good shape. Treasury figures show a deficit of $4.6 billion, about ten billion less than expected, due to a higher tax take and lower expenses. The Crown's net worth has also jumped by $40 billion in the year to June 30. Finance Minister Grant Minister says the p...

There are many, many tragic stories that have come out of this pandemic - not so much from the deaths themselves, although they are undeniably sad for the families concerned.  But it's the people desperate to get into NZ who can't because of our MIQ system.  It's those who haven't been able to be at the births of their children, or to be at the bedsides of family members who are sick or who might...

Good morning — and a special good morning to the South Island.  I see you. I know you're there.   Even if other people seem to have forgotten about you — I know it's important for those regions in stricter lockdowns to hear the news regarding their alert levels first but surely a — and that means the South Island must stay in Level 2 for the meantime — wouldn't have hurt.   Anyway, the news was pr...

Most teachers are expected to be on board with mandatory vaccinations. School staff who have contact with pupils will have to be fully vaccinated by January 1 and schools will have to keep track of which students are vaccinated. However, there are concerns over what prolonging the return of students to school will do to their learning and also their mental welfare. May Road School is a primary sch...

A delighted Sir Ian Taylor has been given approval by the Government to trial a private self-isolation system for international travel, designed to free up spaces in MIQ for returning Kiwis. The Animation Research founder received approval yesterday from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to run a privately funded trial that Taylor is calling #151 Off The Bench. He wants to...

D Day today on the announcements, and I don't think anyone's expecting good news - not with 60 community cases yesterday and more to come.  It's not the number of cases of the Delta strain that is the problem - it's the fact that unvaccinated or people who are not fully vaccinated are more likely to end up in hospital and that’s the problem.  Good to see rates of vaccination picking up as the real...