Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

The Wānaka couple must have been listening to Deborah Pead on this show yesterday, given the apology and expressions of remorse delivered by them last night when their name suppression lapsed. Oh, they're very sorry, and they understand they've done wrong, but they weren't Covid positive and they hadn't been to places of interest. Not surprisingly, the Queenstown mayor Jim Boult is underwhelmed.  He says if he were William Willis and Hannah Rawnsley, he wouldn't be coming back any time soon. I think I would put some distance between now and the next visit to Wānaka would be my best advice to them. Wānaka is a tight community and quite understandably people right across the district were really unhappy about this, he said."It will take a while to get over this.”And I get that.  But can we just take a moment to ask why Auckland police didn't take action against a gang gathering - a group of fifty people broke level 4 rules to attend a tangi in Avondale yesterday. The funeral may have been online but that didn't stop people gathering together to share their grief and their sorrow and give their loved one a decent send off - all things we would love to be doing under Level 4, all a natural part of being human. The inability for people to come together and share their grief and pain and memories is one of the toughest parts of a lockdown - and yet time and again, people choose to break the rules - and they're not punished. Those who play by the rules are. Look at this poor woman who applied three times to travel to Waihi to attend her mother's funeral.  She was told the need to protect the wider NZ population from Covid 19, and especially from the new and more transmissible variants, has meant some restrictions have been put in place.And yet, these people who broke the rules to see of their loved one weren't charged, the names of these people haven't been released - because according to the police, the officers were aware that they were dealing with people going through the grieving process. It's not just bloody gangsters who grieve.  And yet they can get away with closing roads in Hawkes Bay and blocking off areas and getting police escorts and breaking Level 4 rules, while people who obey the rules are left absolutely distraught.And it's not just those directly affected.  The vast majority have chosen to give up certain freedoms and the vast majority have chosen to reluctantly comply for the good of the wider community. There are people who are losing their businesses and their homes - who are suffering death by a thousand cuts, and to see people like the Wānaka duo and the tangihanga attendees.Not to mention the ridiculous, random and incomprehensible decisions being made about which businesses can open and which cannot, erode the good will and the resolve we have towards obeying. Compliance is not a given.  What is the point of following rules when there are no consequences for breaking them? When in fact the consequences for following the rules are far worse than the punishment for breaking them?When you can't be by a loved one’s bedside - but others can have sex in the hospital, or have a cast of thousands disrupting a ward.  When you can't give your mother a proper send-off but others can.  When you are laying off employees and wondering whether you are going to lose your house - and others are swanning off to Wānaka to their other house. If we're all in this together - then there need to be consequences for all rule breakers.  Because even the most compliant and law abiding of us - we might not be rule breakers, but we do have a breaking point.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Auckland couple who escaped lockdown to Wanaka have been granted interim name suppression. Interim name suppression was granted via an urgent teleconference last night, to allow their lawyer to apply to the High Court for suppression of a longer duration today. The two people were dobbed in after using their ‘essential worker’ exemptions to leave Auckland, fly from Hamilton to Queenstown, and then travel to the holiday home in Wānaka. To discuss the issues around reputation management, Chief Executive of Pead PR, Deborah Pead, joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sir Ian Taylor is once again making a plea to the Government.As an experienced businessman, he says "the economy simply cannot afford to keep replaying the same level 4 restrictions that played out over the past couple of weeks, nor can businesses expect to operate successfully on the international playing fields with an MIQ system that simply has no rules they can play by."He'd like to see some experts on the team, coming off the bench, to get us re-engaged with the world.Sir Ian Taylor joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Now for something lighter for Friday.How do you get through lockdown without going doolally?Some people have taken up needlepoint, others garden, read, run or you can meditate.Yoga and meditation teacher Claire Robbie joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A two-year guaranteed income experiment in Stockton, California, shows what a difference monthly cash payments can make for people struggling to stay afloat. The programme gave 125 people living below the median household income $500 per month for two years, with no strings attached. A study released after the programme's first year found the payments measurably improved participants' job prospects, financial stability and overall well-being, In the US, roughly half of all single mothers make less than $30,000 per year, and nearly 30 percent of households led by single mothers live in poverty. Sukhi Samra is the Director of the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration, the nation’s first mayor-led guaranteed income demonstration and she joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Covid-19 lockdowns have given Dads a lot of food for thought and they are now re-evaluating their work-life balance. For many fathers, it's given them a chance to have the family time they wanted but couldn't make happen. It's also opened the eyes of a lot of men as to the work their partners do running their families, and in many situations, the male contribution to domestic housework and childcare has increased. To discuss this shift in the gender balance, Associate Professor of Employment Relations at AUT, Dr Katherine Ravenswood joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Waiata Anthems Week kicks off on Monday, celebrating New Zealand's bilingual music industry. More than a dozen New Zealand artists have re-recorded their tracks in te reo Māori including Six60, Niko Walters and Stan Walker. Singer songwriter Georgia Lines is also one of those artists, she's today released a reo version of her hit single ‘My Love’- ‘Tōrere’. Tōrere was recorded at Roundhead studios in Auckland and has already amassed 550K streams on Spotify.Georgia Lines joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Business owners have been left frustrated and angry as the Government's wage subsidy application website appeared to close three hours ahead of its deadline last night. National’s Social Development and Employment spokesperson Louise Upston says the Government must apologise to business owners and make sure no one misses out on wages.Louise Upston joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

International rugby is finally back this weekend.The All Blacks are in Perth for the third and final Bledisloe cup match on Sunday. Vice-captain Beauden Barrett returns at first-five in the absence of Richie Mo’unga, who is on parental leave. Wallabies v All Blacks, Sun 5th September 6pm - Optus Stadium, PerthBeauden Barrett joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You never know when you're going to life-saving blood and plasma to keep you alive. On average 83 personal emergencies are faced by Kiwis each day and they don't all make the news. Despite the country coming to a standstill in Level 4, the need for blood and plasma donations never stops, nor do those working hard to collect them. Donations Team Leader at the New Zealand Blood Service Scott Sinclair joined Kerre McIvor. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.