Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

The first real snapshot of how New Zealand’s economy fared through the Covid-19 pandemic is out in the form of GDP numbers. Gross domestic product has fallen 1.6 percent in the three months to March -- the largest drop in 29 years. Stats NZ says the result shows a widespread drop in economic activity under travel restrictions and moving towards lockdown. It says the Covid 10 effects came on top of...

"I didn't think things could get much worse after the news yesterday that two women left managed isolation, tiki toured to Wellington and tested positive for Covid.   It showed up the incompetence of Ministry of Health officials and a clear failure of the system. A system we were led to believe was robust and capable of protecting New Zealanders from Covid 19. And yet yesterday, from the 1pm press...

An economist has called for New Zealand to start paying blood donors.  New Zealand, like other countries, does not pay donors, relying entirely on voluntary donation.  However, a new report has revealed that New Zealand does rely on blood that is paid for - however, it is imported from the United States, where compensation for donation is allowed.  Dr Eric Crampton from The NZ Initiative has writt...

A familiar sight on Wellington's streets - another burst sewerage pipe. Victoria Street in the CBD was closed last night due to the burst pipe - which sent sewage spewing onto the footpath and closing the front entrance to the Wellington Central Police station. It's understood some sewage momentarily overflowed into the harbour after the burst. Repairs are due to begin this morning, and the road r...

Independent economist Benje Patterson has looked into businesses that have started across New Zealand while the country was in lockdown. He found the entrepreneurial spirit alive and well, with 3,136 businesses starting up. Benje Patterson joined Kerre McIvor on the show this morning. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kerre McIvor visited Auckland's Depot restaurant last night. And while the food and service was perfect, she found the atmosphere soul destroying with the government's social distancing rules meaning only a limited amount of customers were allowed to dine in when the popular restaurant often has queues waiting outside the door. "Being open doesn't mean you are making a profit. Why are we being hel...

Dr Chris Smith is a medical consultant of virology at Cambridge University but is probably best known as founder of The Naked Scientists - the award-winning science podcasts and science radio shows. He was interviewed on this station back in March and we thought it would be good to catch up with him about all things Covid. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cruise Milford is a Milford Sound sight seeing boat cruise, operating in the Milford Sound-Fiordland World Heritage area, and now they want to show off the area to kiwis. Post lockdown, the company has made changes to the way they operate to keep visitors and crew safe. Cruise Milford's Sarah McDonald says after road closures and the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been a trying period for the area. "Bu...

Newstalk ZB radio host and musician Tim Beveridge who is mourning the loss of his mother has slammed the Government for its "cold and heartless" coronavirus funeral rules. Mary Rae Beveridge passed away on Monday surrounded by her loving family. Her son Tim told fellow ZB radio presenter Kerre McIvor this morning that it's been "surreal" trying to organise a funeral capped at 10 people – immediate...

High profile restaurateur Al Brown has Depot Eatery & Oyster Bar, Federal Delicatessen and Best Ugly Bagels in his stable. His three businesses have been closed under level 4 and level 3 lockdown. Al Brown joined Kerre McIvor on the show this morning for a chat. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Covid-19 has shown it's time to rethink public toilets, and with design innovation, hygiene could be greatly improved. Public health experts, designers and architects say the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed fundamental flaws in the design of public toilets that risk spreading a second wave of coronavirus, and possibly even new pandemics. Sarah Bookman is a Wellington based architectural graduate, wh...

Green MP Chloe Swarbrick and Paula Bennett have shared their points of view on the cannabis referendum.  On Friday, the Government released the legislation Kiwis will vote on in a referendum at this year’s general election. Swarbrick and Bennett are the spokespeople for their parties on the referendum.  Swarbrick told Kerre McIvor despite prohibition attempts over the past 40 years, cannabis flour...

Auckland Transport chief executive Shane Ellison talks to Kerre McIvor about the installation of temporary cycleways and walkways around Auckland.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Epidemic Response Committee is meeting today and will hear from a range of voices – including entrepreneur Rod Drury, academic Max Rashbrooke and New Zealand Initiative Executive Director Oliver Hartwich. National’s Finance spokesperson and Member of the Response Committee, Paul Goldsmith believes small to medium businesses are paying a heavy price for the Government’s extension of the lockdow...

We have spent a lot of time, and will continue to do so, discussing how businesses big and small, can climb out of this Covid-19 Crisis. Kerre McIvor speaks to a couple of business leaders about how they are leading their companies and the hard decisions they have had to make. Joining Kerre are Deborah Pead, Chief Executive of communications business Pead PR and Michael Boggs, CEO of NZME. LISTEN...

Newstalk ZB listeners Aaron and Rodger called Kerre McIvor Mornings to share their thoughts on the government's economic and health response to the Covid-19 crisis. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Restaurant owners are urging hospitality staff to stay positive post lockdown. Next week the country moves to alert level three, meaning some restaurants will reopen if they can provide their services in a contactless way. Owner and founder of Nourish Group Richard Sigley told Kerre McIvor the money they are earning at the moment is going straight into retaining their staff. "We paid all our staff...

The article currently leading US publication The Atlantic is titled "New Zealand’s Prime Minister May Be the Most Effective Leader on the Planet". The piece written by Uri Freeman, suggests the coronavirus pandemic may be the largest test of political leadership the world has ever witnessed and every leader will be judged by the results. German Chancellor Angela Merkel embraces science. Brazilian...

Research into teens’ use of pornography shows that watching porn is increasing amongst young people. Figures recently released by the free pornography site Pornhub show numbers spiking during the Covid-19 lockdown. In theory, it’s a site for adults, but many young people are using it. Classification Office research in 2018 showed that by the age of 17, 75% of young people have seen porn, and one i...

A man wearing a police uniform went on a shooting rampage in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on Sunday, killing 13 people, in the deadliest such attack in the country in 30 years. Officials said the suspected shooter was also dead. A police officer was among the dead. Several bodies were found inside and outside one home in the small, rural town of Portapique, about 100 kilometres north of Ha...

Augustine's Kelly Coe made the decision not to open as an essential business, despite pressure from her loyal customer base.  She and husband Nathan Coe, who own the business, firmly believe their clothes are not essential and people can go four weeks with making a purchase in order to support the Government and keep New Zealand safe.  Listen to the interview with Kerre McIvor above.  See omnystud...

Golf courses across New Zealand are calling for an essential service exemption as they face the "risk of catastrophic turf death" amounting to $10 million. New Zealand Golf chief executive Dean Murphy says they have put in a request to the Government for an exemption that permits the "essential maintenance" of golf facilities. Sports facilities are not on the essential services list as it stands -...

As countries around the world grapple with how to deal with the coronavirus economic crisis, it seems there is no right or wrong way for Governments to manage the financial impact, only trade-offs. Who should ultimately pay for all the money that businesses are getting: is it the ones who receive help now, paying it back over the next few years out of their revenues? Is it a question not just of e...

Shirley called in with her heartwarming story about her street supporting her from afar.  Listen above. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A prediction that the COVID-19 pandemic will change our world for a very long time. We're now into the second week of a planned month-long lockdown. Economist Shamubeel Eaqub told Kerre McIvor that things won't go back to normal straight away. "The pandemic is our Great Depression or war." "The tectonic shifts that we're seeing in our economy, values and society are going to be significant." Eaqub...