Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

A group of 12 elite English, Spanish and Italian clubs dramatically split European soccer on Sunday by announcing the formation of a largely-closed Super League. They are leaving the existing UEFA-run Champions League structure despite warnings they could be kicked out of their domestic competitions and face legal action.The seismic move to shake up the world's biggest sport is partly engineered by the American owners of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United who also run U.S. franchises in closed leagues — a model they are trying to replicate in Europe.The power-play came after the rebel clubs reneged on a promise on Friday to back the plan by UEFA — European football's governing body — to expand the Champions League beginning in 2024. The deal was designed to appease their wishes for more games, seemingly because they couldn't control the sale of rights to the existing competition.The Super League plan was first leaked in January but re-emerged this weekend.Real Madrid president Florentino Perez would be the founding chairman of the SL, which said it "intended to commence as soon as practicable" as a 20-team competition playing in midweek like the current Champions League and Europa League.“We will help football at every level and take it to its rightful place in the world,” Perez said in a statement. “Football is the only global sport in the world with more than four billion fans and our responsibility as big clubs is to respond to their desires.”No evidence was presented that supporters want a Super League. Fan groups across Europe last week criticized even the current Champions League expansion plan as a “power grab."Only 12 clubs have signed up for now — with none from France or Germany — but the SL hopes for three more as permanent members. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are the other founding members, along with Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan. Five slots would be left open to be determined each year based on the previous season's results.UEFA warned clubs that joining the “cynical project" based on self-interest would see them banned from playing in any other competition — domestic, European or global. It said their players could be denied the opportunity to represent their national teams.The statement was issued jointly with the leagues and national governing bodies from England, Spain and Italy.England has the most clubs with the six including Chelsea and Manchester City, who are due to contest a Champions League semifinals this month. Also included is Tottenham, which is outside of the Premier League's top four to qualify for the Champions League next season,“By bringing together the world’s greatest clubs and players to play each other throughout the season, the Super League will open a new chapter for European football, ensuring world-class competition and facilities, and increased financial support for the wider football pyramid,” said Joel Glazer, co-owner of Manchester United and SL vice chairman.Another vice chairman of the new competition would be Andrea Agenlli who on Sunday night quit his role as chairman of the European Club Association, which was working with UEFA on enlarging the Champions League to 36 teams. Agenlli also resigned as a member of the executive committee of UEFA — rupturing his previously-close friendship with the governing body's president, Aleksander Ceferin.The UEFA leader has been determined not to grant more control of the sale of television and commercial rights to the clubs.“We have come together at this critical moment,” Agnelli said, “enabling European competition to be transformed, putting the game we love on a sustainable footing for the long-term future, substantially increasing solidarity, and giving fans and amateur players a regular flow of headline fixtures.”The rebel clubs are all members of the ECA which has a working agreement with UEFA, signed in 2019, which commits all...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nanaia Mahuta's speech on China isn't likely to have come as a surprise to Chinese officials.In a speech to the New Zealand China Council, the Foreign Minister says we need to diversify, and develop other trading relationships.The Foreign Minister says it won't be a shock to exporters that we need to become less reliant on China for trading.She says big exporters are already thinking of building resilience into their business plans, and where those markets are.NZ China Council Chair Sir Don McKinnon told Kerre McIvor it's actually cautious, middle of the road rhetoric."The Chinese understand we have these values and will express them from time to time. They just say this is the way you think, and this is the way we think"LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest report from the Environment Ministry highlights concerns that highly productive agricultural land is being being eaten up by housing developments.The area of highly productive land lost to housing increased by 54 percent between 2002 and 2019.This will only increase as demand for land grows as our population grows.So just how do we provide quality urban housing that people want to live in?Scott Cracknell from Context Architects was involved in designing Hobsonville Point which is considered a great model of suburban mid-scale intensification.Scott joined Kerre McIvor to talk about the issue.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

And here we go again.We find that a border security guard has not been tested since last November and that there is no system in place to ensure front line border workers are in fact getting their tests and their vaccinations. MIQ authorities have relied on individual employers and paper trails to ensure workers are complying and the PM has laid the blame fairly and squarely on the security guard involved – which has shades of the South Auckland KFC worker. Looking at the footage of the select committee hearing yesterday on Three, it was clear the officials at the health select committee hearing had absolutely no idea how many MIQ workers has not been regularly tested and said there are inconsistencies in the testing records and her officials were still checking the data. We have heard this so many times before.  The PM and the Director General of Health have given us over the past year assurances that there might have been stuff ups and there might have been human failures but protocols are in place now and all is well. For over a year now, this has been complete and utter BS.  I don't know how the PM can believe a single solitary utterance that comes out of the Ministry of Health or MIQ. The editorial from the ODT is along the same lines - like me, the writer can't believe how blasé the public is about these mistakes, the slackness the false assurances.  Maybe, the writer opines, it’s because we've dodged a bullet, that we've somehow managed to get away with it. We were told that all MIQ staff were being tested at least every fortnight.  Wrong.  We were told that returnees were being tested on Days 3 and 12.  Wrong.  We were told that there was sufficient PPE.  Wrong.  We were told we were at the front of the queue when it came to vaccinations.  Wrong. This incompetence is absolutely outstanding. The stonewalling and obfuscating from the Government is appalling. I think it is just there to prevent the world from seeing they haven't got a bloody clue, and I maintain, looking at this record from the past year, that it is dumb pure luck.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Claims of a Government attack on Reserve Bank autonomy.An economist is criticising the unprecedented pressure over property inflation.Finance Minister Grant Robertson asked the bank in February to act to support sustainable house prices.Otago University's Dennis Wesselbaum told Kerre McIvor it's raising red flags."Former US Presidents Nixon and Trump tried to interfere in monetary policy, and it has been seen in Turkey."Wesselbaum says if politicians were in charge of monetary policy, they could tinker with interest rates before elections to make the economy look better."Monetary policy should be in the hands of an independent person, like the Governor of the Reserve Bank. That's been the gold standard for the past 100 years or so."LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In my year of living fabulously, the year I had off while I waited for this role to become vacant, I did lots of things that I suddenly found I had time for and one of those was jury duty.  I would have done it before but I'd never received the call up.  Now all of a sudden, my name had come up on the electoral roll and I was being called to fulfil my civic responsibility and I was thrilled to the boots.  Having been a court reporter for a number of years, I found jury trials fascinating.  Of course, I only covered the newsworthy ones.  There are undoubtedly jury trials  that don't make headlines - but even when it’s all points of law, and contracts and signatures, surely if the fate of a person's freedom or reputation depends on your decision making, it's not going to be boring.  However, the courts are struggling to find enough Kiwis willing and able to do their duty.  Fewer than one in five people called for Jury Service in Palmerston North are turning up to court - across New Zealand 17 per cent of people summoned actually turned up for duty.  Former Attorney General Chris Finlayson on the Mike Hosking Breakfast gave New Zealanders a blast for failing to fulfil the obligations of being a citizen of this country. Yeah, nah, not sure that's going to do the trick, Chris.  Shaking a big stick at people for failing to turn up and telling them that they're very lucky to live in this country and this is the least they can do, the ungrateful wretches probably won't work.  Nor will fining people who fail to show - not that we actually do that.Listen to the full editorial aboveSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiwi kids' science skills are suffering.The Education Review Office has released a report into improving science studies.Only 20 per cent of Year Eight students are achieving at the desired level, and the performance of Year Nine students has declined.The ERO says this is concerning, and indicates an urgent need to strengthen science teaching in New Zealand."Covid-19 has showed us how important science is and with science-related issues such as climate change and vaccines increasingly impacting on society, it is essential that we have high quality science education", they said in a statement.To discuss the importance of science education, Nanogirl Michelle Dickinson joins Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most of us have debt - anyone with a mortgage has an eye watering amount of debt but when push comes to shove, that's good debt.  You are investing in an asset - hopefully - and you know that the payments you are making are putting a roof over your family's head. Even student loans, which is the first big debt that many young people incur, can be seen as an asset if you've chosen your courses wisely.  But drowning in debt because you simply don't have enough money coming in to cover your living costs would be a terrible, terrible way to exist. According to One News last night, more than half a million Kiwis now owe $1.9 billion to the Ministry of Social Development.  Interest free loans are available for those on benefits to pay for school uniforms, urgent dentist bills, electricity, washing machine and car repairs.  They must be paid back and although the payments are only $30 to $40 a week, if the only income you have is a benefit then that's quite the chunk. One of the beneficiaries interviewed has to repay $46 out of her $386 benefit every week, and given that she has four children, it’s a struggle to keep her head above water. Now, the Green Party wants the debts to be wiped to enable a reset for all those beneficiaries to get back on their feet.Carmel Sepuloni said having a system whereby beneficiaries can get interest free loans was far better than families having to go to loan sharks to cover some of the basics and that wiping the debt was simply not up for consideration. David Seymour says the loan scheme is creating a culture of entitlement - which shows David Seymour has never been on the bones of his bum. If the sums don't add up, if the benefits aren't enough for people to survive then it is a pointless exercise lending them money that they can't pay back - or that they can pay back, but only if they get food parcels and emergency grants. It is a futile exercise - a bit like spending a million dollars a day on emergency housing.  It keeps people trapped in a hopeless situation - and taxpayers are spending millions and millions of dollars to keep people there. Would it make more economic sense to raise benefits rather than putting people into a vicious cycle of lending and repayments?  Or would that mean people would choose a beneficiary lifestyle over a low paid job.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is making the case for a global minimum corporate tax rate, saying it's important to make sure the ‘global economy thrives based on a more levelled playing field.'Yellen has called on OECD countries to agree on a global corporate minimum tax rate.They've proposed 21 percent - and surprisingly, some big players are on board like Amazon's Jeff Bezos.NZ Herald Business Editor at Large Liam Dann joined Kerre McIvor to discuss the idea and what it might mean for New Zealand. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Disappointment there's still no announcement from the government on international students.CEO from Aspire2 International Claire Bradley says they thought the trans Tasman bubble would free up more space in MIQ for students.But she told Chris Lynch the Government's looking to disestablish some facilities.Bradley says the sector desperately need a plan from the GovernmentLISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.