Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

Boot camps for the unemployed are set to double in size.  The Limited Service Volunteer programme is a free six-week motivational training course run by the New Zealand Defence Force.  Young people are put in an army-style environment and taught life skills to help them go into the workforce.  Next year, the programme will be doubled in size to 1600 students, along with a new facility at Whenuapai...

AUT student Grace Stratton has made Instyle Magazine's annual list of "Badass" women, where they recognise those leading the way to a better world.  Grace has been recognised alongside names like Mindy Kaling, Anne Hathaway, Lizzo and Rihanna.  In March, the 20-year-old launched All Is for All, a speciality e-commerce site featuring clothing and accessories presented in an accessible way for peopl...

A University of Auckland study says the islands of Tuvalu, Tokelau and Kiribati can adapt to climate change rather than simply sinking below the waves, which is contrary to what we've been led to believe.  Last month, TIME's magazine cover featured United Nations chief António Guterres standing in water off Tuvalu. The cover photo was to illustrate one point — that island nations are sinking in th...

A fireworks retailer says there are enough safety measures for private use. Two thirds of local councils support approaching central government for legislation to ban the private use of fireworks. But Bad Boy Fireworks manager James York says [told Kerre McIvor] there's already strict safety requirements. "All the howlers that are imported into New Zealand are tested to make sure that don't fall o...

As Iran faces a tough squeeze from US sanctions, they have announced plans to boost uranium enrichment this week to whichever levels it needs. It is the latest conflict between the two nations following the fallout from Donald Trump pulling the US out of the Iran nuclear deal. Kerre McIvor spoke with international relations expert Dr Robert Patman about the continued conflict between the two natio...

TVNZ presenter Hayley Holt was called out for "discriminating" against men's sport in a heated on-air debate with renowned sports journalist Scotty Stevenson. Stevenson and Holt were discussing last week's historic clash between the Silver Ferns and the New Zealand Men's Invitational team in the Cadbury Netball Series live on Breakfast on Friday morning. The men's side, which went on to take out t...

Companies with booming overseas sales and innovative offerings have been recognised for their outstanding achievements at the 2019 Air New Zealand Cargo ExportNZ awards. Exporters of goods and services from Northland, Auckland and Waikato came together in Auckland last night to celebrate at a sparkling awards evening. Adventure tourism company Haka Tourism Group, which incorporates educational and...

The drug trade in Australia and New Zealand is having a devastating impact on the Pacific Islands. The quantity of trafficked drugs has exploded in the last five years - with Australia and New Zealand having the highest cocaine use per capita in the world. Jose Sousa Santos researches crime in the Pacific at Massey University and spoke to Kerre McIvor this morning. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/...

A group that supports rainbow young people is applauding a Christchurch all-boys' school for its support of a student who is transitioning gender. READ MORE: CHRIST'S COLLEGE WELCOMES FIRST NON-MALE STUDENT Executive Director of Qtopia, Alice Anderson, says Christ's College is being very understanding. She told Kerre McIvor such a situation can be challenging for some. "Gender is a social construc...

Caller Richard turned his life around after 20 plus years in and out of jail.  He came from a gang affiliated background but the catalyst of change for him was age and missing out on his kids' lives. He spent 15 years getting qualifications and is now a clinical practitioner working in the mental health field. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A local tobacco control expert has slammed the country’s hefty tobacco tax. It comes after 19-year-old Jerome Heke was sentenced to four years prison for stealing just four packets of cigarettes. The annual EY report last year found that, since January 2010, the Government has increased tobacco excise by at least CPI plus 10 per cent each year.  The excise is currently 82.66 cents a cigarette.  Dr...

National technology manager at Callaghan Innovation Kirsten Edgar joins Kerre McIvor to wrap tech week. New Zealand's annual festival of innovation is almost over, with this year's theme is innovation that is good for the world. Edgar says many global mega trends that are not tech trends, but are driving some changes in technology. She says Climate Change is one of those. "Change in climate and th...

New Zealand Herald travel writer Thomas Bywater joins Kerre McIvor to talk about the upcoming submarine taxi launch in Australia. Tourism & Events Queensland and the ride-sharing app Uber are launching a submarine taxi on Heron Island on Monday.  The project - named 'scUber' - will allow visitors to Queensland to order a submarine ride using the popular taxi app. The Great Barrier Reef is one of t...

More than 80 years on and the calls to make teaching our nation's history compulsory continue. A 3,000 signature petition's currently before Parliament, demanding New Zealand kids be made aware of our past. Auckland University Emeritus Professor in History Raewyn Dalziel says people have been pushing for this, for decades. "In 1938, James Cowan was a major historian at the time and he talked about...

It's still unclear how Google's decision to block Huawei will affect New Zealand users. An executive order from Donald Trump has forced Google to stop Huawei accessing its operating system and apps. Over time, people may lose access to functions and popular apps like Uber. Telecommunications Users Association chief executive Craig Young told Kerre McIvor it's probably not good news. "I think we're...

The cancellation of the Jeremy Kyle Show is sparking a major debate about reality TV in the UK. British broadcaster ITV has permanently cancelled the tabloid talk show, which had run for 14 years and specialized in emotive, confrontational showdowns.  It comes after 63-year-old Steve Dymond was found dead at a home in Portsmouth, southern England, on May 9 shortly after his appearance on the progr...

Removing cars from Wellington's Golden Mile is being seen as a sensible initiative, not just a bold idea. Wellington Mayor Justin Lester has made an election promise to make the Capital more people-focused. Auckland Council design champion, Ludo Campbell-Reid says cities like Edinburgh, Paris, London and Melbourne have been doing the same. He says pedestrian malls have downstream benefits. Campbel...

An international lawyer says New Zealand could act as a peace broker to a region at the other end of the world. The US, China, and Russia are butting heads in the Arctic, vying for a piece of the resource-rich area. China - has no territory in the Arctic circle - but has a seat on the Arctic Council as an observer. Harrison Clark Rickerbys Law Head of International, Nicolas Groffman, told Kerre Mc...

James Shaw says the Zero Carbon Bill will be too much for some and too little for others, but they have to do more than simply plant trees.  Details of the Government's long-awaited climate change laws were unveiled today, setting out a 30-year plan to help limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Farmers will be happy methane - the gas mainly produced by agriculture - is exempt f...

Boris Johnson is being taken to court over claims he made during the Brexit referendum campaign. A crowd-funded private prosecution against the Brexiteer is due to begin next week. The private prosecutor, Martin Ball, has accused Johnson of knowingly lying, when he claimed Britain sends the EU 350 million pounds a week that it could otherwise spend on healthcare. UK correspondent Stuart Hughes tol...

New Zealand's bug man says humans need to have a more plant based diet for a more sustainable future. The latest UN report shows that 1 million species are at risk of extinction for the first tine in human history. Ruud Kleinpaste told Kerre McIvor he agrees that human activity is to blame through environmental destruction, climate change, and consumption. Kleinpaste is positive, however, that New...

A former competitor says athletics risks losing an icon in the wake of a controversial ruling. Double Olympic 800-metre champion Caster Semenya has had her appeal dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. She was aiming to halt the introduction of regulations to limit testosterone in female athletes with differences in sexual development. The court ruled the regulations are needed to ensure...

Professional racing driver Greg Murphy says enough is enough when it comes to fatalities on our roads. Eight people been killed after yet another head-on collision yesterday morning between Taupo and Tokoroa. It makes April the deadliest month on the roads in a decade with 45 deaths to date. Greg Murphy told Kerre McIvor it's not the roads or speed that's the problem, it's the people driving the c...

A new political poll has once again shown bad news for National, but does it really matter?  The Colmar Brunton poll for 1 News puts Labour on 48 per cent and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on 51 per cent approval. For National, they were down to 40 per cent, while Simon Bridges is lingering on five per cent.  Kerre McIvor argues that while Simon Bridges needs to go, the new 1News poll doesn't refl...

April will see some of the biggest tax changes in a generation.  Starting next week, Inland Revenue will be updating their technological systems, but they will also be implementing new changes that will modernise the tax system. Inland Revenue Commissioner Naomi Ferguson joined Kerre McIvor to discuss the changes and how they will impact on New Zealanders. One of the big changes will be refunding...