Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

A couple of weeks ago we were talking about the farming community and the fact that the latest surveys out showed they didn't have a great deal of confidence or optimism about the future of their livelihoods. And you would have to wonder how they're feeling now with reports of foot and mouth getting closer to New Zealand. A new outbreak in Indonesia, a first for that country, has both Australia and New Zealand on edge. Bali is a popular tourist destination for Kiwis and particularly Aussies, and even though there are no direct flights to Bali from New Zealand, biosecurity officials say they'll be on the lookout for anyone who's traveled there recently.  At the PM's post Cabinet press conference yesterday, she said that if foot and mouth reached New Zealand, all rural trade would be stopped and more than 110,000 jobs would disappear. Biosecurity Minister, Damien O'Connor, put it more bluntly, it's the doomsday disease. And he says officials are doing all they can to prevent the disease arriving on these shores.  So we have to do our bit and we have to be vigilant as well. If you're heading to Bali then you'd want to make sure the shoes, and whatever else you wearing on your feet were washed, anything else that came into contact with any kinds of animals.  Mike Hosking expressed doubt this morning on his show, whether this Government could cope with a biosecurity risk as big as this. But I think successive governments, including this one and their associated departments have shown they can.  Remember the great 2015 Grey Lynn fruit fly hunt? And the subsequent 2019 Auckland fruit fly response that saw around $34 million spent on eradicating a handful of fruit flies. I think it was just over $1 million a fruit fly that they found, which might have been considered an overreaction, but I would say it was money well spent. As the fruit fly if it had established itself here, could have decimated an industry worth $6 billion in domestic sales and exports kiwifruit, honey and the like, gone. And remember M. Bovis? In 2017, the Government made a commitment to eradicating Mycoplasma Bovis and that would have been, or is, a world first. And although the relevant departments were unprepared for such a widespread response. Shock me sideways and color me pink they weren't ready! They rallied. And an independent review found that New Zealand is well on track to being able to make the claim that we are M. Bovis free.  But I think the lessons we can take, is that we know how to get rid of biosecurity threats, thus far. The threat was identified, the threat was eradicated in terms of the fruit fly and in terms of M.Bovis. If the lessons have been learned, that can be adapted to foot and mouth and that should give you some confidence, shouldn't it? That we'll be able to keep this latest by a security threat from establishing itself on our shores? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AG Research principal scientist Axel Heiser joined Kerre Woodham to answer questions on Foot and Mouth disease and whether we can stop it entering the country. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Less than half of students are regularly attending school. The latest truancy data shows regular attendance in term one dropped to just 46 percent. It's down on 72.8 percent in 2019 - pre Covid - and 50.5 percent in 2020. National's Education spokesperson Erica Standford says this is not just a social failure but a future economic crisis. Erica Standford joined Kerre Woodham. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Now, if you're listening to me while you're at work this morning, it doesn't matter what you're doing; blue collar, white collar, minimum wage, being paid through the nose for whatever it is you do, working part-time, working full time. I just want you to take a wee moment and just give yourself a virtual hug. A little bit of a hearty handshake, a bit of a hand clap, because you and I my friends, taxpaying New Zealanders, are becoming rare and wonderful beasts. We are like shining unicorns, you and I.   Marvellous creatures we are, the stuff of myth and legend, because, and this stopped me in my tracks yesterday - did you know how many people are receiving benefits in this time of desperate worker shortages? 11 percent of the working age population is receiving a main benefit.   11 percent! What you might ask is a main benefit? Well, I wondered. I thought perhaps it included Working for Families, but no, no, those payments are extra. Emergency accommodation and emergency payments for food that's all on top. The main benefits are Job Seeker, Supported Living, Sole Parent and then a host of others - a bit of rats and mice, like the Youth Payment, Emergency maintenance allowance, student hardship etc. Not many people are on those. By far the majority of working age people are on Job Seeker, Supported Living and Sole parents.  If you had asked me if somebody had said on-air, you know how many people, what proportion of working adults do you think are on the benny? I'd have said I don't know 5 percent, six maybe. The people who can't work because of illness or accident. People who are new parents, brand new parents at a push. People in-between jobs and looking for work. But 11 percent?!  Bloody hell, taxpayers are not only funding the huge sinkhole that is government bureaucracy, they're funding schools, hospitals, roads and they're funding 11 percent of the working age population. They're having a laugh. I really draw a line at that.  And what sort of life is it on a benefit? You exist. You barely get by. How on earth can you not think you're better than that? As I say, sincere sympathies for those who cannot work and that is what the benefit is for, and perhaps if those who were able got off the benefit, those who need it could have a little bit more. You could take the money that is being paid to 11 percent of the population and give more to the 5 percent who desperately need it. I'm appalled. Honestly, I had no idea it was that many people.  So if you, my beautiful Unicorn, with your shining mane and your silver hooves, are grunting away at work today, labouring away doing what you do, thank you. I'll thank you as a fellow taxpayer, because I guarantee that 11 percent won’t. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Dickens: Does the Govt know their new visa policy hurdles are too high?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Dickens: Dr Ashley broke me when he announced changes to the way we monitor Covid infectionsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are landlords and then there are landlords. There are those who do it for a living, they're professional, they're onto any problems, they treat their tenants with respect and in turn they are rewarded with great tenants. It's a symbiotic relationship in the best possible way. Then there are the complete amoral Rachmans of the renting world. Slum landlords who care nothing about the state of the properties their tenants live in, care nothing about their tenants, and who are only in it to get as much money as they possibly can, and they're basically land banking while farming people. Then there are the hapless, the ones who don't really know much about being a landlord. They don't really know much about the rules around it. They don't really know much about how to repair a property or how to best screen for the right tenants, but they've been told that buying an investment property and renting it out is the only responsible thing to do as a New Zealand family person.That if you and your family want financial security, the only way to do it is to buy another house and rent it out. And they're the ones who will be squeezed by increased interest rates, and they're the ones who will have been hit by Labour’s changes to the rules around investment properties. We know that times are tough for just about everyone, but when households are seeing the majority of their household income being swallowed up by rent. When tertiary students are paying more than half their income on rent, times that are tough will be tougher still for renters. The Salvation Army is called for an accommodation supplement review, saying the supplement is based on rent data about six years out of date. And as we know, the property market has changed considerably in six years. The Sallies also say the Government needs to take into account regional variances across the country when it comes to the cost of living and renting.But is topping up Government allowances the answer? Taking money out of people's pockets, washing it through Government departments and then handing it out to selected people doesn't seem like a particularly sensible, economically cost-effective way to fix the problem.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The desperate need for affordable housing in the Waikato has driven a local charitable trust to launch an ambitious development in the Waikato town of Cambridge.  The Bridge Housing Trust, set up by The Brian Perry Charitable Trust, is to develop a brand new, 42-home community in Cambridge.Peake Mews will offer affordable, architecturally designed housing in an innovative, vibrant, and connected community.It's based on the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust’s innovative leasehold model for progressive home ownership, with the first homes looking to be completed by May 2023.Will Randell is the portfolio Manager for the Perry Group/Bridge housing Trust and he joined Kerre Woodham.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ireland beat the AB’s 32-22 and deservedly took out the series 2-1.There are those who ask does anyone still care about rugby? The answer is yes they do. Judging from the sellout crowds at every single one of the games and the howls of pain and anguish from All Blacks fans after their series lost to Ireland on home soil. First things first though, Ireland were absolutely outstanding. Their attack, their defense, their lineouts, their ability to force turnovers. It really was a masterclass in rugby and looked like the All Blacks of old really. The All Blacks in my mind never ever looked like they were going to win. They simply didn't have the nouse to respond to Ireland. So where to from here? An interesting stat over the weekend. Just 24 tests were needed for Ian Foster to suffer 7 losses. It took Sir Steve Henson 89 tests to lose 7. The All Blacks have lost four of their last five internationals and many in people's mind, surely the coach must be to blame. There were many who were against Ian Foster being appointed All Black coach. It was a safe, boring, pedestrian appointment in many people's minds. So surely not much of a debate. The only debate is whether he stays for the World Cup or goes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inflation has hit a 32-year high of 7.3%, with housing costs said to be the biggest driver.In the past three months, the cost of building a new home rose 18-percent and renting a home went up 4.3 percent.Transport was the next biggest factor, with petrol prices increasing 32-percent in the past year, the biggest annual increase since 1985.NZ Herald Business Editor at Large Liam Dann joined Kerre Woodham.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.