Now the police have been in the spotlight in the past few weeks. It should have been criticism, with Wellington Central MP Tamatha Paul's comments and the criticism of police pulling back from attending mental health call outs, but in fact, the attention has highlighted just how much our men and women in blue are valued.   I'm pretty sure that wasn't the original intention of Tamatha Paul when she made her much publicised comments that people in Wellington didn't want to see police officers everywhere: “for a lot of people, it makes them feel less safe”. She said it's that constant visual presence that tells you that you might not be safe there if there's heaps of cops. She also accused police of waiting for homeless people to leave their spot, packing up their stuff and throwing it in the bin. She doubled down on her comments later and said it was no wonder some people didn't trust police because they were quick to use force against people with mental distress.   To give her comments some context, she was speaking at a panel with the University of Canterbury Greens and Peace Action Ōtautahi, where alternative forms of policing were being discussed. So you can imagine it wasn't a police love-in. These were people who were anti-establishment outside of what they would conceive of as a patriarchal, oppressive society, and they have their views their own experiences. And that's what it was. She might well have had anecdotal experience of people having unsatisfactory dealings with police, but plenty of us had our own anecdotes of more than satisfactory dealings with police, and that's what came out. It wasn't a police pile on, in fact, people came very quickly from all corners to defend the police.   When we were discussing mental health last week, for example, and whether people were now more able to access the care they needed, we had about four or five texts and callers tell us they didn't receive much help from mental health professionals. Where they got the most help and support, tangible help and support, was from the police. Far from being quick to use force against people with mental distress as Tamatha Paul would have it, the police officers they encountered were kind, compassionate, patient, and able to offer practical solutions for friends and family members.   So there were criticism of police responding to mental health events, and now they're getting in the neck for withdrawing their response to mental health events. I do not blame them for not wanting to be the first port of call – that is not what they signed up for, and that is not what they were trained for. But because every other agency and organisation abrogated the responsibilities, the police were last men and women standing. And police have announced they will be delaying the changes and will stagger the withdrawal of services across districts to give the appropriate agencies more time to prepare, as Police Association President Chris Cahill explained to Mike Hosking this morning.   “Police have agreed to just slow down and do it by district. I mean the best thing Mike, is finally Health at the national level are recognising they've got to step up and take responsibility for what is a health problem, not a police problem. Originally people in the health area just didn't want to take responsibility and that's what we learnt from overseas, unless police draw a line in the sand and say, nope, you're going to do it, the people suffering mental distress won't get the right care, from the right people, at the right time. And that is not police officers sitting in in hospitals for six hours. That's not good for anyone. So we had to push it. We pushed it, so now we're engaging, and I understand – we want to slow down and just make sure we get it right. We don't want anyone falling through the cracks. But remember, police will still go to anyone who's at risk of harming themselves or the public.”  Exactly. I was really interested to see, given the pile-on and given the fact that there was a change in the way police were being asked to police under the last Police Commissioner —that's now come back to more of a perhaps orthodox understanding of how police operate— whether policing was still an attractive option for young New Zealanders? And what it is that draws men and women to the job? And I was staggered to see applications for Police College – 1371 for the 80 to 100 places. That's in a month. I thought that was a year when I first looked at the figures. That's in a month – in July of 2024, there were 1371 applications to join the police, the highest since data was gathered in 2014. In August of 2024, it was the second highest – 1037 in the month of August of 24. So on average they're receiving last year about 526 applications per month. Obviously, they'd go down January, December, so that's where you get the figures levelling out. That's up a couple of 100 per month, more than in 2023.   That's a hell of a lot of people who see policing as a really important career, that they feel they can offer something to, that they feel they can get something out of. And I would love to know, given how much attention has been put on police, what the role should be of police in our communities? Whether they are an oppressive tool of the patriarchy, or in fact that they are, as I see them, compassionate, tolerant, amazing men and women who are incredibly efficient at what they do and are doing their level best. They're not heavy-handed. I mean, I'm old enough to remember what it was like in the 80s when it was a bit young cowboys going in their truncheons ahoy. These days, it's a whole lot more nuanced and complex, and that's the way.   In a day and age where we are so self-obsessed, we're so insular, we're all about the self, the ego, being a police officer is a really community minded calling. How is it that there are so many people who feel it’s a calling for them?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pak’nSave shoppers seem to be getting the best deal.  A recent study by Foodstuffs North Island has found that New Zealand stores offer the lowest grocery prices when compared to leading retailers in Australia and the UK.  The study compared 20 everyday necessities, and after adjusting for sales tax and exchange rates, Pak’nSave came out on top – cheaper than Woolworths NZ, Woolworths Australia, Tesco UK, and Aldi Australia.  Foodstuff North Island CEO Chris Quin told Kerre Woodham that when they look at that data, there’s a really competitive, innovative story being told.   He says they don't have price match guarantees because there's just too many products to cover.   Quin says supermarkets may hold up to 18 thousand different products so it would be too tricky to match them all.  He told Woodham they have more holistic aims.   Quin says for Pak N Save stores it's about getting the cheapest basket possible, and with New World it's about providing a good shopping experience.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwis are being urged to stay calm and stay the course as stock markets tumble.  There’s global uncertainty off the back of Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, and investment funds like KiwiSaver have been taking a hit.  Mortgage brokers have been facing concerns from first-home buyers, wondering what to do about the slump in their balance as they look to purchase.   Personal Finance Journalist Mary Holm told Kerre Woodham that people should always keep money they plan to spend soon out of high-risk funds.   She says that if you plan on spending a significant chunk of money within the next two to three years, you should request your KiwiSaver moved to the lowest risk fund.   For those who cut it close, Holm says to sit tight.  She told Woodham that share markets often overreact to economic events like the tariffs, and they’ll recover eventually.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well, we were a little in advance of the day yesterday, weren't we? If you were with me yesterday, I was looking at the armed forces lowering their standards to try to attract more people into the services. They're leaving in droves, finding it very hard to recruit new people, men and women, to join the services. And instead of lowering standards, I said, why not make the Defence Force more attractive as a career? Address the poor pay, the substandard housing and the lack of opportunities for career advancement for servicemen and women to stop them leaving in their legions. And what do you know? Twelve hours later they have.   A huge investment into our services, $12 billion over the next four years for a modern combat capable New Zealand Defence Force, $9 billion of that 12 is new money. Where is it going to come from? Who knows? All will be revealed. It's an unprecedented investment into services and it will certainly bring them into the 21st century. Morale must have gone through the roof. So to the grandad that texted in yesterday and said we've just encouraged our grandson onto a Pathways Programme into the Navy, have we done the right thing? This time yesterday morning, no. Today? Abso-bloody-lutely!    The Defence Capability plan released yesterday afternoon will see all sorts of things. It will see the ailing Boeing 757s replaced – that'll cost between $600 million to $1 billion. Other smaller vehicles, including light armoured vehicles, will get around the same – $6 million to $1 billion in funding. The maritime helicopters will be replaced, that'll cost $2 billion plus. There'll be uncrewed autonomous vessels. There'll be javelin anti-tank missile upgrades, enhanced strike capabilities, long range remotely piloted aircraft, space capabilities. You name it, Uncle Tom Cobbley and all. The Governments chosen not to replace the two Anzac frigates, Te Mana and Te Kaha, certainly not in the first part of the plan. Instead, they're going to spend around $600 million to keep them going.  Former Defence Minister Ron Mark says he sees NZ First’s hand in the defence commitment. He said there would have been a lot of nudging, a lot of feeing on, a lot of encouragement from NZ First, and he told Mike Hosking this morning that this significant commitment to our defence will only enhance our standing with our long term allies.   “This will play well with our strategic partners globally. I mean I'm thinking right now ASEAN, FPDA, and the Indo Pacific. I'm thinking of security comfort that the South Pacific Defence Ministers will get. Five Eyes also, and NATO, can't forget NATO. But it's also going to enhance the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs ability to secure our economic future. You can't have prosperity without security and right now we're living in possibly the most insecure times that we've seen since the Second World War.”  Amen to that. He also told Mike that he wanted to get the contract signed as soon as possible so that in the event of a Labour/Greens coalition there wouldn't be a U-turn on this defence commitment. But Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he broadly agreed with the plan as it stood on Monday. He was interested in seeing how it would be paid for, as indeed are we all, but what would he care about that? Didn't bother him in the past where the money came from. He basically sees an increase in defence spending as an extension of Labour's 2019 plan, and they did put in a considerable sum of money, again, probably as part of the coalition commitments.   I guess when you see Chris Hipkins saying he broadly agrees with it, political leaders with an ounce of experience and pragmatism, who are not blinded by ideology, understand that the world is indeed a precarious place. We have to be willing and prepared to play our part in helping ourselves and helping our friends, and with that commitment yesterday we're certainly showing that we're willing to do so.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I find it incredible that within a few days of a report into the sinking of the Manawanui - a damning report that revealed the crew and the Commanding Officer of the Navy ship were under trained, ill-prepared, not up to the job, the boat wasn't up to the task it was doing when it grounded on a Samoan reef - we learn that the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has lowered its standards to make it easier for people to apply for a job. This is an RNZ story and documents obtained by RNZ show that last year the Defence Force quietly removed some entry requirements for NCEA levels 1 and 2, which you would have hardly thought were the most onerous of qualifications to get. To apply to train as an army combat specialist, an auto technician, a plumber, a Navy diver and logistics specialist, and an Air Force firefighter- among other roles - you'll now need three years of high school up to year 11, you don't have to pass Level 1 credits. The Defence Force says the changes prompted a surge in applications in 2024, however, it's unclear whether that surge is continuing or whether it has had a marked effect on enlistment numbers. The drop in standards - because however you dress it up, that's exactly what it is - came about because people were leaving the army in droves and bosses needed to get boots on the ground however they could. There's a great piece in North and South Magazine from 2023 looking at just this problem, the attrition within the Army and the decline in standards and the decline in it being an attractive career option. More than one in 10 military personnel left the organisation in 2023. In the interview with North and South, Chief of Defence Force Air Marshall Kevin Short, estimated that the attrition rate for the most skilled personnel was even greater, somewhere between 20 and 30 percent. So you're losing the experienced people, those who are able to be good leaders, they're going. It's almost certainly higher now. Short said “We cannot sustain that loss.” Then defence Minister Peeni Henare said these are some of the worst rates the Defence Force has seen in its history. The consequences of that, the Royal New Zealand Navy idled three of its nine ships for lack of people to crew them. A recent briefing to Henare explained that the NZDF was experiencing significant fragility and presumably the new Defence Minister, Judith Collins, has got that briefing as well. When asked whether Defence Force could maintain a peacekeeping operation in the South Pacific - the organization's most important task after after civil defence - Short says it would struggle. And that's despite the most significant boost to military spending in living memory. However, the boost -  that money  - was all spent on new planes, ships and vehicles. Money needed to be spent on them, you couldn't keep some of those planes in the air and the dear old Manawanui was bought and that disappeared. The problems causing the mass exodus of personnel weren't addressed. And that is the poor pay - they're about 7% to 16% percent less than civilian counterparts - substandard housing, the lack of career advancement and the lack of leadership. So those are the problems, that is why people are leaving. They can't see any way to advance their careers. It used to be a great career option - if you wanted to get you go to university, if you wanted to learn a trade, you'd join the forces, you'd have subsidised housing, you'd put in your service to the country, and in return you'd have a great career. You'd have options after you've done your time. If you decided to leave, you could go into Civvy Street, you'd be snapped up in no time because they knew that training was great, that you'd be a benefit to any organisation. That's just no longer there. The reason why people are leaving is the poor pay, the substandard housing, the lack of career advancement, the poor leadership. And that simply hasn't been addressed, other than to dumb down, lower and compromise standards. And we've seen what happens when you do that. Loose lips might sink ships, but so too do loose standards and loose training. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Backyard granny flats are about to get bigger, and easier to build. The Government's announced it's going further to ease construction regulations, allowing for an estimated 13-thousand new flats to be built without consents. The proposed 60 square metre maximum is now increasing to 70. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk, says removing these barriers is critical for increasing housing supply. Newstalk ZB's resident builder Pete Wolfkamp talks to Kerre Woodham.  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Access and Choice Programme, biggest investment in mental health in a generation, has now been in place for five years. The Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission released its final report on the programme rollout yesterday. The programme was funded from the 2019 wellbeing budget. You'll remember that, where more than a billion dollars, nearer to $2 billion, was committed to mental health support, to provide support for ‘mild to moderate’ needs relating to mental health and problematic substance use or gambling in primary care and community settings. That’s the official name for it. So you turn up to your GP, the GP says your corporeal self is not the issue, you need to shore up your mental wellbeing and instead of sending you away and then you have to make an appointment and wait, they can just hand you over to a mental health worker who's parked up right next door. It’s is a really sound idea in principle.   Did it work? Is it working? The answer appears to be, looking at the report, up to a point, yes, it is. The number of people seen per year by services has increased steadily over the last five years to more than 207,000 for the 23/24 financial year, but it does fall short of the programs target of 325,000. CEO of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, Karen Orsborn defended the program on the Mike Hosking breakfast yesterday and says the program is achieving what it's set out to do.   “It does work. And we've heard some really, really positive feedback from the people who use these services. And so it is working for many people, it's just not getting to the number of people that it really needs to. And some of this is the way the service was designed – so having people in individual practices and people being able to access on the day and that's, there's not a steady flow of people always needing those services. So what we also need to use is some of the digital virtual tools to make sure that people are being fully utilised across the country. So there are some strengths in the model, but there's also some areas that need to improve.”  And that's pretty much what the Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey said when he spoke to Early Edition yesterday. He said that when he was in opposition, he was broadly supportive of the Access and Choice Programme, but since becoming Minister, he's seen ways to improve it and to broaden its reach.   “Looking forward, I think part of the solution is going to be digitising the Access and Choice Programme, shifting it online so that will enable the staff to have higher utilisation rates and see more people. What I want to see is that programme rolled out further. We want to hit its target of seeing 325,000 people. Not only that, one of my first targets, I've set five targets for mental health —first time in New Zealand would have mental health targets— is for people to be seen within one week of the service, so I want more people to be seen and seen quicker.”  I guess the questions I have are, given the conversations we've had around the lack of support for parents looking for help for their children, for people looking for help and dealing with their mental wellbeing is, is it fit for purpose? Are you able to access the help when you need it?   When it comes to the substance abuse, that's one aspect of mental health and wellbeing. When it comes to the problem gambling, it's another, when you've got children who are in pain that's a whole other area. When you've got people who are just struggling with the day-to-day life, that's a whole other area as well. There are so many different ways, just as there is with physical ill health, that you can be mentally unwell. Are the services there for those who need it across the broad spectrum? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Slow and steady improvements in mental health and addiction service access.   Minister Matt Doocey's latest quarterly target updates have been released and show a small increase in the proportion of people being seen by specialist and primary services in under a month.   However shorter ED department stays are still far below the 95% target, rising slightly to 65%.   Doocey told Kerre Woodham it's a work in progress.   He says he believes there is no silver bullet, but improvements happen through the sum of every action, which is why they now have very clear targets.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our Government is asking the US for more details on its new import rules for New Zealand.  Donald Trump's announced 10% tariffs on almost all goods entering the country from around the world – including New Zealand.  Many countries face much higher tariffs, with goods from China being hit by a combined 54% levy.  Trade Minister Todd McClay has confirmed officials are still seeking information.  He told Kerre Woodham that while a trade war isn’t ideal, New Zealand has a very diverse trade strategy, with agreements with most parts of the world.   He says that trade will adapt, and exporters will have other opportunities.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwis seem to be on the move.  Ministry of Housing and Urban Development data shows that half of New Zealand tenancies are less than two years old, and just 1% have been in place for more than 18 years.  The average tenancy is now 50 months long, up from 28 in 2010, and the median has reached 25, up from 14 in 2010.   Residential Property Managers Association Chairperson Tony Mitchell told Kerre Woodham that it comes down to flexibility – mostly on the part of the tenant.  He says most landlords would prefer a long-term agreement, but tenants prefer the flexibility of shorter contracts as it allows them to move or upsize as needed.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.