Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

Kerre Woodham was moderating a panel yesterday about environmental issues. The panel was at The Packaging forum which is all of the people involved in packaging; the consumers, the marketers, the creators, the recyclers. It's a forum designed to reduce the amount of waste we have and be turned it into something good. Woodham says she was very impressed by Jerome Wenzlick and his company Future Post, who take soft plastic bags and turn them into fence posts and palings for garden beds. Future Post's founder and CEO Jerome Wenzlick joined Kerre Woodham Mornings. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand Rugby has unanimously voted to keep Ian Foster in the head coaching role through until the world cup next year, despite winning just two of five tests this year. Former All Black captain Wayne ‘Buck’ Shelford said this morning that Foster may have the backing of the board and the executive, but the pressure remains on him. To discuss this, Former All Blacks Coach John Hart coach joined Kerre Woodham and said he was disappointed in some of the comments made toward Foster and the team. “Sure, none of us were happy that we were losing tests, but the personal attacks and what has followed, I just don’t think that is New Zealand and I’ve been very disappointed.” LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some coastal communities are now facing the very real prospect of having to desert their homes due to climate change. There has been a rise in extreme weather events, especially flooding of cities and towns near rivers or streams. So what do you do? Rebuild and hope that it is indeed a once in a one hundred year event? If you want to move, what do you do with your property? Insurance Council Chief Executive Tim Grafton told Kerre Woodham we need to act sooner, rather than later to safeguard our vulnerable communities. "We really do need to start doing that work right now, we can't wait another three years for a Climate Adaptation Act to finally start to be implemented, we've got to start looking at the hardest-hit communities now." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I've been watching with fascination as Dr Gaurav Sharma blows up his political career. I think it's fair to say that Sharma’s career is pretty much over. He feels betrayed, disillusioned, and let down and it's probably fair to say his Labour caucus colleagues feel much the same. They see a politician gone rogue, airing dirty laundry in public, telling all the secrets. He sees a broken system that supports and protects bullies and the party, at the expense of the public. As former United Party leader Peter Dunne said this morning, there's probably a bit of truth in both positions. As he says, both the Uffindell and Sharma affairs show that there's fault on both sides when it comes to the selection and preparation of new MPs under Parliament. I was looking at the meet our new MP's video that was on the Labour Party website, these were the 23 new MPs that were elected in the landslide in 2020. They all came from careers of service or business or a lot of lawyers. Doctor Sharma was there looking newly minted and squeaky clean as all the others did. They all looked so excited about being there. They all looked like this was the fulfilment of a lifelong dream. And they probably aren't prepared for the reality of Parliament. For the hierarchical nature of it, for the fact that there are staff there that have seen 1000 of you come and go, and they're not that terribly impressed by you. And when you go, there will be another one to take your place.   Probably a lot more could be done to prepare wannabe politicians for a life in the fish bowl that is Parliament. It is a very odd place. You know, having been around the periphery of Parliament for some years, it's like a vacuum. It sucks in you and you believe that everything that happens there is the only thing that matters. On balance, National, I think, has handled their scandal better than Labour has handled theirs. You do really have to wonder about the culture of the place.   There have been attempts to work out what needs to be fixed in Parliament. But when you have the biggest bully boy of all being rewarded with a sinecure in Dublin and when loyalty above all … above ability, above efficiency, above common decency is what matters the most within the Labour Party, you realise that it's going to take a seismic shift in attitude to bring about any change at all.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This morning there was the, some might say disturbing, or at the very least, unsurprising revelation that the Ministry of Transport Waka Kotahi has concluded a six-month safety trial.  They've been using hidden cameras at three secret spots around Auckland and it's caught around 1000 drivers a day illegally using their cell phones while driving.  1000 people a day illegally using their phones.  I don't mind saying, I think that the biggest threat to me and my family when it comes to the roads is that distracted and bad drivers. Forget the speed. It's people who use their cell phone and think it's okay to make a quick call.  I think that distracted driving is one of the greatest threats to people's safety on the roads.  The question is, what do we do about this when it comes to enforcement action? At the moment, a fine for using your phone while driving is 150 bucks and 20 demerit points. For me at the moment, the cameras for this sort of behaviour are the answer. For the time being at least, it's a reminder to put that bloody phone down and maybe take the time to ask whether your phone call or text really is worth risking someone else’s life and ruining yours. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If we thought the issue of bullying was going to die down with an investigation being launched into the behaviour of Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell and everybody being told to cool jets and wait for the report. Well, along comes an obscure Labour backbencher with an unsolicited op-ed in the New Zealand Herald that fired an absolute broadside at the Government parliamentary services and just about everyone who works there. Hamilton West MP Dr Gaurav Sharma talks of gaslighting, stone walling and member-to-member bullying and while some have said he's just not used to the rough and tumble of politics, I'm sure there's an element of truth to what he's saying.   About 300,000 people, accounting for 11 percent of the workforce, said that they had experienced discrimination, harassment or bullying in the previous 12 months. Women were more likely to have experienced discrimination, harassment or bullying. Workers in the 45 to 54 age group reported the highest rate of bullying at 14 percent, which sort of puts paid to the whole notion of young snowflakes coming into the workforce and complaining about bullying when all it is is robust language. Asian/Maori ethnic groups account for 13 percent,  the rate for Pacifica and European ethnic groups was about 11 percent. While it's pretty clear that an unprovoked attack on a younger pupil and a boarding house constitutes bullying, I'd argue it's a lot harder to define bullying in the modern workplace.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leo Molloy has quit the race to become Auckland's next mayor. The Herald can reveal he is expected to announce his withdrawal today - on the same day a new poll had him dropping to third. Nominations for the election close at midday today. Leo Molloy joined Kerre Woodham. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watercare's $1.2 billion Central Interceptor project is now more than 2Km underground and heading towards the Manukau Harbour. The 14.7 kilometre Central Interceptor wastewater tunnel — the longest, biggest and most expensive pipeline in the country — is creeping its way underground, to create a wastewater tunnel that will run between Western Springs and the Māngere Wastewater Treatment Plant.   Shayne Cunis is the Executive Programme Director for the Cental Interceptor and he joined Kerre Woodham. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday, Associate Education Minister Jan Tinetti announced changes to NCEA and university entrance (UE) for 2022, saying the Government recognises the disruptions COVID-19 has caused high school students. The big issue, according to principals from across the country who contacted the Government asking for assistance, is the significant absences of students and teachers, as a result of COVID-19 and it’s required isolation period, and the impact that has had on teaching, learning and assessment in the first two terms. So the changes are; students will be able to receive Learning Recognition Credits, with one Learning Recognition Credit awarded for every five credits earned through assessment. Students working towards NCEA Level 1 will be able to receive up to 10 additional credits, while those at Levels 2 or 3 will be eligible for up to 8 additional credits. To receive a Certificate Endorsement, students will need to earn 46 credits at Merit or Excellence level, instead of the usual 50. The University Entrance requirement to achieve at least 14 credits in each of 3 approved subjects has also been adjusted, to 14 credits in each of 2 approved subjects and 12 credits in a third approved subject. My son is in his first year of NCEA, and Covid has been a bit of a pain to be honest. He got Covid at the end of the first term when a lot of internal assessments and tests were being done. The disruption of not being able to sit tests when he was pumped and ready for them, and complete assignments when unwell, did have an impact on his performance and results, and we felt for him. Not that his results were terrible. But our attitude is; that’s life. You have to deal with the ups and downs and, and whatever is thrown at you, and just do your best. He’s lucky that there’s still time and opportunities to lift his grades. At no point did we consider he should be compensated for being sick, and I am sure a lot of parents feel that way. However, if you talk to those in schools, to teachers, principals, counsellors and psychologists, you might get another picture on the impact Covid has had. According to staff and students I have spoken to, student attendance has been worse this year for some schools compared to the last two years. Sickness and isolation rules has kept teens and teachers out of schools for long periods of time. When schools offered online learning, this wasn’t such an issue, but many schools don’t have the capacity anymore to teach both online and in person anymore. And then there is the mental health aspect of all this. Knowing learning recognition credits are available might help those who are anxious Covid complications might impact their work towards getting into University. Not all teenagers will need to use learning recognition credits. Those who are driven to do well will continue to strive to do well regardless of what the credit and university requirement is. This is a policy designed to encourage those who are struggling to keep at it during challenging times. We want as many teenagers as possible to have options when it comes to education, so if this is what it takes to keep them in the system, then maybe it’s worth it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What a bloody mess. Hopefully, with Peter Goodfellow gone, National can get their house in order once and for all. This ridiculous hoo-ha over a new electorate MP should never have come to pass and would never have come to pass if National’s systems and processes were better when it comes to selection. Party leader Christopher Luxon sounded as exasperated as he probably gets when he was talking to Mike Hosking this morning. It beggars belief that Luxon and his deputy Nicola Willis would be left playing catch up after revelations Uffindell had been expelled from school for beating up a younger student. And then once those revelations were made, of course, it became a pile-on. The allegations Luxon was referring to in the interview are from a woman who flatted with Uffindell, who said he was an aggressive bully who once pounded on her bedroom door, screaming obscenities until she fled through the window. She said that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Her father came to Dunedin to help her move out of the flat the next day and gave the flatmates a piece of his mind. I would prefer to see any allegations of bad behaviour handed over to the police and let them decide whether a threshold has been crossed. We are all imperfect people. Parliament is made up of people just like us; imperfect. There is not a pool of perfect, blameless souls from whom we can select to make up our Parliament or our police or whatever it might be, and in a way I'm glad there's not. I would prefer people to have lived a bit of life, made mistakes and known what it's like to be humbled. I'd rather people like them were running the country and creating policy. Would I seek out the company of a man like Sam Uffindell? No, I wouldn’t. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.