Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

Paddy Gower shared a lot more than I think he intended too last night when he set out to make a documentary on alcohol. In a very brave move, he’s produced a documentary called Patrick Gower: On BoozeIt is filled with facts and figures about alcohol, who drinks it, how we drink it and the damages it causes, but more than that, he’s come clean about his own drinking, and the realisation he is a high-functioning alcoholic. I applaud him for his honesty, it wasn’t pretty at times as we watched Gower strip down to his undies in front of a body scanner to assess his body fat, or watch him attend a crate day with a bunch of 21 year olds, or crash a party at a student flat in Wellington.In putting himself out there, he’s hoping that we in turn stop and think about our own drinking, or the drinking of a loved one, and question how we have normalised alcohol use in New Zealand. I think there will have been a variety of reactions to this documentary. For some this documentary is filled with a few home truths – watching it might have been confronting or even triggering.  One in five of us are hazardous drinkers like Gower – unable to see the damage alcohol does to ourselves or to those around us. Gower’s inability to moderate might have hit home, or the high functioning nature of his alcoholism.Maybe you can relate to the feeling that everything is starting to unravel, but you haven’t necessarily hit rock bottom. Some people might have been taken back at Gower’s drinking.As he states at one point in the documentary “Hard drinking is part of my life ... the only thing that will stop me drinking is a bad hangover”.  Maybe there was a sense of relief watching this documentary in that you don’t drink to the same extent. But whatever your own situation, 80 percent of us drink alcohol in NZ, and Gower makes it difficult not to think about how we’re drinking. As the old saying goes, "it’s not what we’re drinking; it’s how we’re drinking". One thing that struck me watching this documentary is how our drinking might weigh on our own minds, but we don’t necessarily talk about it to those around us. I feel like there is a shift when it comes to drinking culture in NZ – a gentle shift.We are seeing less young people drinking due to a decreasing acceptability, and I’ve noticed more people turning down a drink socially saying they’re off the booze for a bit, or not drinking so much.However, if there is someone in your life who you are worried about, how do you strike up a conversation about their drinking without offending or judging them? Have you staged an intervention of sorts, and did it work, was it well received?Or maybe someone sat you down for a chat, and just as Gower did when talking openly, have a moment that changes your attitude to your drinking.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A minor shuffle eh? Not quite so much.There was more on offer at yesterday’s press conference than expected; actually, the announcement was pretty sensible. It’s a good time for the Prime Minister to be making sure the right person is in the right job, shift the Opposition’s focus by moving along a few folks, and attempting to arrest a slide in the polls.The shuffle was instigated by a couple of resignations, and the timing couldn’t have been better for the Prime Minister.Minster for Immigration and Broadcasting Kris Faafoi announced he was leaving to spend time with his young family. He’d had wanted to resign at the last election but Ardern had convinced him to stay on, taking on portfolios undergoing major reform in broadcasting and immigration.I don’t think it was a secret that he was keen to move on, especially when the man who was once regarded as the Minister of Everything went AWOL during Covid, and moved slowly to deal with immigration issues. Michael Wood picks up immigration, and let’s hope he hits the ground running, and brings some relief for the many sectors crying out for migrant labour.Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard has also resigned, ending a 35-year parliamentary career in August to take up a diplomatic post in Europe, a nice reward for some average behaviour of late. This is good timing for the Prime Minister, in a recent poll only 17 percent of New Zealanders thought he was doing a good job, and after the headlines about false sexual assault claims and unhelpful antics over dealing with the Covid protest, this is nice neat solution for the Government.Chris Hipkins, who is fast becoming Labour’s fix it man, takes over Police and passes Covid-19 Response to Ayesha Verrall. We now have a person with a criminology degree in charge of the police – not a bad idea, but Hipkins’ ability to manage complex portfolios, deal with opposition, and communicate well with media might be more behind this move rather than a degree he did in the late 90’s.Basically, he’s competent.The Prime Minister said that she felt the focus for the police portfolio had changed since 2020, and the focus on what was needed for police now had been lost, but added that Poto Williams is a capable minister and retains her confidence, and stays in Cabinet as Conservation and Disabilities Minister.Hipkins is very fond of his education portfolio, but to free him up a large part of his education portfolio will go to Associate Minister Jan Tinetti – who as a former principal and teacher seems to have a good handle on the job.It’s also worth noting Poto Williams lost the Building and Construction portfolio which has been handed to Megan Woods, who is the Minister of Housing. Things are not settling down in the construction sector, and this could be an issue leading into the election next year. Best to move the portfolio into more capable hands now.This reshuffle is a sign of things to come. A chance to give talent an opportunity to step up and shine before the Prime Minister undertakes a major reshuffle at the beginning of next year. It is unlikely Labour will have a caucus of 65 MPs next election, so it’s also important for the party to make sure their best talent will be retained.Those given the nod are Kiri Allen, who picks up Faafoi’s Justice portfolio and Adrian Rurawhe who has been nominated as Speaker. Kieran McAnulty becomes a Minister outside of Cabinet with a focus on regional issues - picking up Emergency Management, Racing, and associate minister for Local Government assisting Nanaia Mahuta with Three Waters. He’s a good choice, and no doubt will be out and about around the country selling this infrastructure policy in an attempt to get it back on track.As I said, these seem like very sensible appointments, but whether any of these politicians are up to the job, depends on results so it’s a 'wait and see' situation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Life Education Trust, an organisation that provides health education to young people, says young vapers are consuming as much nicotine as someone smoking a pack-and-a-half of cigarettes a day.They say schools are crying out for help because they are dealing with young people with full-on dependency issues and it's becoming an epidemic.In response to growing calls from concerned parents and educators, the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation New Zealand yesterday launched "Spotlight on Vaping" - a series of videos designed to be conversation starters about vaping.Foundation chief executive Letitia Harding joined Francesca Rudkin.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New Zealand Professional Firefighters union members start industrial action today in their fight for reasonable wages and safer working conditions.Speaking to the Mike Hosking Breakfast, New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union National Secretary Wattie Watson says as well as looking for a pay increase, they need more paid firefighters on the job.So according to the Union, there is currently a crisis with Fire and Emergency NZ failing to employ sufficient career firefighters and 111 emergency call centre dispatchers to meet minimum staffing.We've been hearing about this, haven't we? We've been hearing about career stations that have been closed. Fire trucks that have been taken offline or firefighters are riding in unsafe short crews to keep the fire trucks responding. If a fire truck is offline, a truck from further afield responds costing valuable time. At the end of the day, wanting better pay, more firefighters and mental health support all this sounds pretty reasonable to me.Why don't we look after our emergency services better in New Zealand? We're very much relying on our volunteers to keep this service up and running. We have the highest number of unpaid firefighters per capita in the world.We've got 11,500 New Zealanders giving their time to serve in voluntary brigades and we've got about 1800 professional firefighters.So you ask the question, we've got all these people who are really happy to volunteer to do the same training as a professional firefighter, so why aren't they stepping up to be firefighter? And it's pretty clear they're not getting fair wages. Not to mention the concerns about working conditions.The fire service is a necessity; it's not a nice to have. It's time for the Government to step up and at least look after the firefighters that we have. We can't afford to lose anymore. And then work out how they're going to attract more firefighters into the sector.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has announced it is going to redesign the attendance service to help schools deal with truancy and have released some new student attendance targets.The new target is for 70 percent regular attendance in 2024 and 75 percent regular attendance in 2026.Across New Zealand, fewer than 60 percent of students currently attend regularly.‘Chronic absence’ means a child might be missing at least three days per fortnight. This has also been rising with almost 8 percent of students now chronically absent and the strategy aims to cut that number to 5 percent by 2024 and 3 percent by 2026.I am very pleased to see that the Government is finally doing something about it. I don't know about you, but to me it seems one of the most important things for our kids, is to be in school.Schools sometimes can be a one size fits all environment. It doesn't suit every kid, but essentially we do want our kids to be at school in learning, it is the best start in life, isn't it?Only 60 percent of students currently attending regularly, I think you'd agree with me is not good enough. It's about time this took place.I absolutely think this needs to be localised.We need to have more truancy officers on the ground working in communities. Schools need to have more resources to have these people if they want.If you want absenteeism to be reported and for schools to be able to work on it, they need the funding and they need the people to actually make this happen.Of course, parents are responsible for getting their kids to school, but once again, sometimes those complex issues make it a bit tricky, don’t they?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Breast Cancer Foundation Pink Ribbon Breakfast registrations are down 32 percent, representing a drop in income of roughly $600,000.Usually held each May, the campaign has now been extended to June 17th to try and make up the shortfall, in order to ensure it's services aren't impacted.Services that are needed more than ever.There's a backlog of 50,000 women overdue for their mammograms due to Covid delays.The importance of clearing the back-log has been highlighted by our colleague, Coast radio host Lorna Subritzsky.After beating the disease six years ago, Lorna has been diagnosed with breast cancer for a second time following a mammogram that should have taken place in December.Breast Cancer Foundation CEO Ah-leen Rayer joined Francesca Rudkin.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we heard in the news this week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will meet Australia's new Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese and we've been told to the controversial 501 deportation policy is near the top of her agenda.I said yesterday that I didn't believe the Australians would reverse their 501 policy. It's a sure vote winner for all political parties, it looks like they're taking strong action against crime, and the public appreciates that.On the Mike Hosking Breakfast this morning, political commentator and associate professor at Massey University Grant Duncan was hopeful for a change.For many of the 501s, Australia is home.It's where they spent their formative years. They might have arrived as children and young adults. It's all they know. It's where their families and their support systems are.It's also the environment in which they committed their offending, and if they have already served their sentence, paid their debt to society, it sort of feels like it's a double punishment, doesn't it?If Australia believes in social responsibility, then the added punishment of deporting them isn't really helping anyone. So while I don't believe Australia will reverse the policy, surely there is room to make decisions on a more case by case basis and reduce the number of deportees arriving back here in New Zealand.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A surge in gang violence has Auckland on edge at the moment as a tit-for-tat gang war between two rival gangs plays out on the street.The Minister of Police, Poto Williams said she wants the Police to work faster to tackle this particular issue. The Police have responded by saying they're making arrests, mostly on firearms charges and working behind the scenes to de-escalate the situation.And yet still communities fear for their safety. The Government recently announced a $562 million investment into Police and $94 million to target gangs and organised crime. Obviously more resources are key to tackling the gang problem, but is it enough?National Party spokesperson Mark Mitchell has suggested tough anti-biker laws introduced in Australia should be considered here. In 2013, Queensland instigated some laws which meant that it was against the law for three or more known criminals to meet in public. They went a bit further than that as well.If you associate with non-criminals, even text them, you're given a warning and if you breach that warning you were then regarded as a known criminal and can be monitored.Giving police more resources and the power to investigate and supervise gang activity and those associated with them is surely a step in the right direction.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we've been discussing, an increase in gang violence in Auckland has opposition parties eyeing up Australia's strict anti-bikie laws.In some Australian jurisdictions, anti-consorting laws mean gang members gathering together can be prosecuted.In Western Australia, they face up to five years in prison.Is this a way for New Zealand to dismantle the gangs from the inside out?National Party police spokesperson Mark Mitchell joined Francesca Rudkin.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According two new reports out this week, national house values have fallen in the latest quarter.One Roof's Velocity House Value Index and the latest Core Logic Data found residential property values in the quarter to the end of May down by precisely the same amount - 0.9 per cent.While dropping property values may be a concern for homeowners, questions have been asked as to whether it is a good time for first home buyers to enter the market.Property commentator Ashley Church joined Francesca Rudkin to discuss.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.