Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

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.

Obesity and the state of children’s dental health is in our news regularly.New research out has once again prompted the call for the Government to introduce a levy on sugary drinks.An extensive review of policies from around the world where taxes are in place, and let’s remember over 45 countries have already taxed sugary drinks, shows the tax leads to 15% lower sales on average.The research, which looked at studies from across 12 countries and 5 US states, showed that while these taxes lifted the price of products and lead to fewer sales, it did not affect jobs within the beverage manufacturing industry.We know that the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages is associated with dental decay and diet related disease. We know 8000 children have had a general anaesthetic to have their teeth out.It seems like a no brainer to me to bring this into place here in NZ, however, yesterday Associate Health Minister Peeni Henare, who is responsible for nutrition, made it very clear, the Government is not considering a sugar tax.The taxes work overseas, so they should be introduced here, I think.It seems like a pretty simple way to get our sugar consumption down. As much as I feel that we might need a tax on sugary drinks, we also need to be looking at how we promote and educate good eating habits in general.I am disappointed the Government isn’t acting on this.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Very early this morning, the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern met with US President Joe Biden. The meeting went longer than it should, it went over time and it was warm and friendly. Is that enough for you? On the agenda, of course, was trade and the CPTPP, there was global security, the Indo-Pacific economic framework.They talked climate change, the Ukraine and various things and of course, the CPTPP has been a focus for New Zealand and a discussion between New Zealand and the US for quite a while.It is unlikely we'll probably ever get a free trade agreement with the States so the CPTPP really is our best bet.  President Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in 2017, so it's very much back on the cards.This wasn't going to be a meeting that was going to produce a whole lot of accountables.You know, the Prime Minister said that we're not going to be announcing any new initiatives. It was made very clear before the meeting so that our expectations were kept in check; we weren't to expect any great announcements.So was it worth it this trip that the Prime Minister has just undertaken to the United States? I would say yes, because the more you hear from politicians we understand the importance of face-to-face talks and it has been a long time since we visited, seven years or so.  Sir John Key made the point in the last week about the importance of having that personal relationship with the US. If it benefits New Zealand, if it benefits the tourism industry which has been decimated over the last two years, then surely that on its own makes this trip worth it.We're this amazing little country at the bottom of the world. You can't actually just pop there for the weekend if you're coming from the States. You need a bit of time to plan, you need to put the seed into people minds.Yeah, come back, we're open. Come back and enjoy this amazing country and I think she did a very good job in achieving that. So, are you impressed with what the Prime Minister has achieved?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark, alongside Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson, announced the Government response to the Commerce Commission's findings on the supermarket sector.The Government will match 12 of the Commission's 14 recommendations and it will go further with the other two recommendations. But the main message to the supermarket duopoly was that the Government is putting the sector on notice and to change at pace or face regulation.The bulk of the reforms will be included in the Grocery Industry Competition Bill, and Minister Clark intends to introduce that later this year. So if you're looking for something that was going to make a difference to your weekly shop over the next wee while, you're out of luck.Yesterday's announcement was meant to look like action on dealing with inflation and rising costs, but we all know it's not just supermarkets that are solely responsible for rising costs. They're part of a mix, but not the whole solution, and a long-term solution is needed.This is a little bit cheeky by the Government using these new regulations to take action on the cost of living and trying to sell it to us like that. But if you want to look at these regulations as an attempt to change decades worth of a lack of competition between supermarkets, then there are some positives here, especially when it comes to enabling new players into the market.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You know, I was not at all surprised to see the headline on the front of the New Zealand Herald today talking about the state of mental health care for children and teenagers in New Zealand.A briefing document that was provided by the Ministry of Health, to the Health Minister Andrew Little in September last year, has been obtained by the Herald and it paints a grim picture. Mental health crisis teams operated by DHBs saw 50 per cent more young people in urgent distress last year than they did 10 years earlier in the past decade.There has been a 177 per cent increase in the number of young people taken to hospital emergency departments in crisis. Andrew Little admitted to Mike Hosking on the Mike Hosking Breakfast this morning that children and adolescent mental health services are in crisis.I appreciate Andrew Littles's honesty on the situation, this is not a problem that can be solved overnight. But after $1.9 billion was allocated to mental health in 2019 you would have thought we might have a little bit more to show for it than an increase in GP services and youth specialist services.Not to say that they're not important, but you know, as Andrew Little just mentioned, these problems are easy to pinpoint. It's always been about funding and staff. We've known that they've been issues with staff shortages for a long time. DHBs are struggling to find enough psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses and other skilled staff to fill vital frontline roles. And yes, you can say it's we've had our borders shut for two years, and it's been really difficult to get these people in, but there's actually a worldwide shortage and this problem was around before Covid hit.There isn't an overnight solution. Obviously, we don't want situations to get to an acute place, so there are other things that we can be doing to help support our kids and our adolescents?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fears China's latest plan for a security pact with the Pacific is designed to give them more influence in the area.China has sent a draft to 10 Pacific countries, outlining a plan for policing, security and data communications cooperation.It comes ahead of a meeting Foreign Minister Wang Yi is hosting in Fiji next week.National's Foreign Affairs spokesperson Gerry Brownlee says it's deeply concerning and shows China's desire to deepen its involvement in Pacific affairs.Sir Don McKinnon is not just our longest serving Foreign Minister but a Foreign Minister who annually took a plane load of MPs, NGOs, students, traders and civil servants around Pacific.Sir Don McKinnon joined Kerre Woodham.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.