Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

The Government has taken another step towards fulfilling its pre-election promise to lift incomes and improve working conditions of everyday Kiwis. The Fair Pay Agreements Bill was introduced to Parliament yesterday and is expected to pass into law later this year. Under the bill, employees will be able to force their employers to negotiate working conditions and pay if at least 10% of their workforce or 1000 staff agree to it. Objectors believe the legislation will only drive up costs for businesses and it's the type of legislation we would've expected to see in the 70s and 80s. In favour of Fair Pay Agreements is the early childhood sector - they believe FPAs will help retain more teachers. The Council of Trade Unions' say Fair Pay Agreements would put New Zealand on par with the rest of the world. CTU President Richard Wagstaff says Australia's modern awards system has been in operation for years - and its wages outstrip New Zealand's. Richard Wagstaff and Business New Zealand Chief Executive Kirk Hope joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I imagine it's come as a wee bit of a surprise to some people that all of a sudden, economists and commentators are warning that New Zealand is facing a brain drain. For a while, all we heard were about the hordes of New Zealanders wanting to come back to New Zealand. Will be overwhelmed, some said. Where are they going to live? What are we going to do?  Now we've got Brad Olsen from Informetrics who posed the question last week, 'Is New Zealand facing up to a brain drain?' For the year to January 2022, Stats NZ estimates a net migration outflow - so more people left than came in - of around 7500 people, with an annual net outflow now estimated to have been occurring since March of last year.  This morning, the Kiwibank Chief Economist chimed in estimating we're going to see Kiwis leaving the level the country at a level last seen during the Aussie mining boom of 2011.  I certainly know young people who are wanting to leave New Zealand. They want to go. That was always the plan. The pandemic has held them back but now they're off.  And TBC, whether they actually return.  It's not just about the numbers either, it's the message it sends when you've got more Kiwis wanting to leave, than stay. This is the first time I've heard that mood shift where, you know what, I don't see this country offering me the future I want. If we can't turn around the flow of people, or if we can't replace them with similar adventurous young people who are willing to travel to another country, another culture, another another part of the world to have an adventure, to bring their talents and add their energy. If we can't get them to replace our adventurous young people, then what are we going to be?  The retirement village of the South Pacific?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last Thursday we had a one-topic show on literacy, after a new report from Education Hub raised concerns about our "deeply worrying" decline in literacy levels.Their report found less than 65 per cent of 15-year-olds have basic proficiency in reading and maths.On Friday, the Government announced a plan to improve our literacy and math rates, including more support for teachers and development of action plans.Education Minister Chris Hipkins joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new report out is highlighting something I think most of us know already; that we are failing our children when it comes to reading and writing. Researchers from The Education Hub have combined international research with local studies and have found that yes indeed, we're failing and there are multiple contributing factors.  The first one - children have to be in school to be schooled. If you're going to teach children, they have to be in the classroom to be taught. Chronic absenteeism is a major problem in 2019, and this is before the pandemic.  43% of children in this country are not regularly going to school.   Researchers also pointed to teachers having lower expectations for Māori and Pasifika kids. They don't expect them to achieve, so they don't put in any particular effort.  There's a piecemeal and underfunded intervention system for dyslexic kids and struggling students. The curriculum is also blamed, blamed due to a lack of content. Children aren't getting the opportunity to develop higher-level thinking. The critical skills and their higher-order literacy.  A number of schools are now saying balanced literacy doesn't work for a lot of our kids. We need structured literacy, which is another name for phonics. So, there are different ways to teach.  Not all children will be taught the same way, but what we are seeing is that a country that had a once proud history of teaching and turning out young people with the best brains in the world, is failing them. We still have some very bright kids taking on the best of the best but the gap between those succeeding and those failing is getting wider all the time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new report from the non-profit Education Hub organisation has raised concerns about what it calls a "deeply worrying" decline in literacy levels. Less than 65 percent of 15-year-olds have basic proficiency in reading and maths. Education Minister Chris Hipkins says the Government is working hard to turn around the trend, but it takes time. Dr Christine Braid, from the Massey University Institute of Education, works with teachers and schools to explore best practice in literacy teaching for the benefit of all learners and she joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Madeleine Albright, the first female Secretary of State in the United States has died at 84. Former deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and a lifelong friend of Madeleine Albright, Sir Don McKinnon joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Treasury is warning the country's current infrastructure gap is set to widen if nothing changes. It's also stating the Government frequently doesn't get value for money with investments and has one of the worst records at delivering infrastructure. Infrastructure Commission Chief Executive Ross Copland says New Zealand has underinvested compared to its OECD peers and too often when investments are made, they aren't the right ones. Barney Irvine is an Infrastructure consultant and he joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What on Earth are we waiting for? Cabinet is to decide today on the future of the country. Covid-19 protection measures, the mandates, the vaccine passes and the like. They've already had the concession of allowing unvaccinated New Zealanders back into the country that was done very quietly. And although we don't know what they have decided — we won't know that until Wednesday (why I don't know) — surely we have to move on. If people don't want to mingle with the masses, fine, don't, stay home. Put the chicken soup on the stove and enjoy an item with Netflix. If people prefer to wear masks for themselves and for others fine.  We have to start living again. And if you don't want to, that's OK. You don't have to. Nobody is forcing you out. Even if you can't afford to go out, nobody is going to make you spend your disposable at a restaurant and a mall where there are lots of people. You don't have to go to a nightclub. You don't have to go to a big outdoor concert where you'll be cheek by sweaty jowl with others.  If that doesn't make you feel comfortable, you stay home. But let other people get on with living. We've had the most extraordinary restrictions placed upon us. It's time to remember that life is for living, not simply existing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch live as National leader Chris Luxon joins Kerre McIvor live in studio on Kerre McIvor MorningsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

History for me is very much a living thing, and knowing where we've come from and how we got here is vital to understanding, I think, who we are.  But then I'm biased. I chose to study New Zealand history. I found it fascinating and I think it's an incredibly worthwhile subject.  And it's constantly being evaluated as historian and Massey University professor Michael Belgrave said on the Mike Hosking breakfast. Teaching subjects like colonisation is going to be contentious, but we have improved and we're constantly improving the way we evaluate history, and we teach that history.  I agree with him. It's constantly being evaluated so I just don't think there's anything really to fear here. There's nothing to startle the horses. It has come out of nowhere, this has been a process that's been ongoing. Every country should learn a little bit about their own history.  And generally, when you learn these incredible stories, it sparks an interest to learn the history of other people as well, so I'm all for it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.