Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

A prediction that the COVID-19 pandemic will change our world for a very long time.We're now into the second week of a planned month-long lockdown.Economist Shamubeel Eaqub told Kerre McIvor that things won't go back to normal straight away."The pandemic is our Great Depression or war.""The tectonic shifts that we're seeing in our economy, values and society are going to be significant."Eaqub says young people will play a major role in rebuilding New Zealand after the lockdown.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bauer Media NZ is closing its doors permanently, staff have been told.The New Zealand wing of the company publishes a range of New Zealand magazines including the NZ Woman's Day, New Zealand Woman's Weekly, The Australian Women's Weekly, the Listener, North & South, Next, Metro, Kia Ora, Home NZ and Your Home & Garden.The closure brings to an end many decades of publishing in New Zealand and affects all staff.A staffer spoken to by the Herald said they were "devastated" and "didn't see it coming"."There were plenty of tears shred. It's certainly a very grey day for New Zealand media."It's a big blow for magazines in New Zealand as they hold a special place in our country. Magazines have been in New Zealand for generations, they are a trusted friend and give comfort to many households."The staffer said that even though magazines were deemed non-essential by the Government, staff were still working at home preparing to put out their next publication."This is a total shock. This is the end, it's awful."She said the finer details such as redundancy pay-outs had yet to be confirmed.Chief executive Brendon Hill told staff the news this morning in a company-wide Zoom meeting.A 1958 edition of Woman's Weekly. It was launched in 1932.In a statement, Bauer said the closure was due to the "severe economic impact of Covid-19".EY has been appointed to work alongside Bauer New Zealand to facilitate an orderly wind-down of the business."This is a devastating blow for our committed and talented team who have worked tirelessly to inform and entertain New Zealanders, through some of the country's best-loved and most-read magazines," Hill said."We understand the New Zealand Government's decision to move to Covid-19 Level 4, but it has put our business in an untenable position. Publishing in New Zealand is very dependent on advertising revenue and it is highly unlikely that demand will ever return to pre-crisis levels."Bauer carried out an urgent review of its New Zealand operations and considered all options to keep part or all the business open, including engaging with the New Zealand Government, Hill said."An active search is underway to find buyers for our New Zealand assets, including our many iconic titles, however, so far an alternative owner has not been found."Funding would be provided to enable all staff to be paid their full redundancy and leave entitlements."I would like to recognise the impact that this decision will have on our suppliers, customers and the wider publishing industry. This is a very difficult time for the entire media industry," Hill said.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Money experts are urging Kiwis to be resilient during the Covid-19 outbreak.As New Zealand heads into day five of lockdown, people are starting to worry about how Covid-19 will affect them long term.Enable Me managing director Hannah McQueen told Kerre McIvor it's time to start thinking about how people will come out the other side of this lockdown financially stable."Your head need to be thinking about how do I pivot, how do I get myself employed, who do I talk to."She says the biggest concern for many people is how they will survive with minimal to no income."Your looking at what income will come in, and income will come in, whether its your leave, whether its a wage subsidy, there will be something coming in."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This morning, Brenton Tarrant entered shock guilty pleas to the murder of 51 people in Christchurch on March 15 last year. Senior journalist Kurt Bayer was in court and explains how the remarkable events unfolded.It's not clear what sparked the mass killer's change of heart.As New Zealand prepared to enter a Covid-19 nationwide lockdown earlier this week, the man accused of the Christchurch mosque shootings suddenly told his lawyers he may want to change his plea. After long denying murdering 51 Muslims at Friday prayer at two city mosques on March 15 last year, he was to put his hand up – he was the killer terrorist.And yesterday, from his maximum-security cell at Paremoremo Prison, the 29-year-old Australian sent formal written instructions to his Auckland-based defence lawyers Shane Tait and Jonathan Hudson that he now wanted to plead guilty.Today's High Court at Christchurch hearing, with Tarrant appearing via audio-visual link from Auckland.It resulted in a remarkable behind the scenes chain of events that sent the criminal justice system – deemed an essential service during the lockdown- into overdrive, urgently trying to organise a court hearing amidst a country preparing for a month-long lockdown.But the worst, inescapable fact of it all? None of the shooting survivors or victims' families could know.Judge explains secrecyJustice Cameron Mander, the judge presiding over the gunman's case since his first High Court appearance 21 days after his arrest – and today convicted him on all 51 charges of murder, 40 charges of attempted murder, and a terrorism charge - would later explain why."Despite the defendant having provided his counsel with written instructions of his intention to change his plea to guilty and he having now done so, there was of course no guarantee that when the charges were read to him this morning he would in fact do so," he said in a minute issued following Tarrant's shock guilty pleas this morning.Justice Cameron Mander has explained the need for secrecy in relation to the gunman's decision to plead guilty."It was therefore necessary to suppress the fact that the matter was being called and the purpose of the hearing."The city's two imams, Imam Gamal Fouda of Masjid Al Noor and Imam Alabi Lateef from Linwood Islamic Centre – who both survived the massacres - were asked to come to court today to witness proceedings on behalf of their Muslim communities.Al Noor, right, and Imam Alabi Lateef from Linwood Islamic Centre.But it's understood that even they didn't know what it was going to be about.Fouda wept while the court registrar took several minutes to read aloud all 51 murder victims named on the Crown charge list, before asking Tarrant if he pleaded guilty or not guilty.Afterwards, they had to go and speak to their communities.A court-imposed one-hour embargo on publicising details of today's hearing, which concluded at 10.30am, gave court and police victim advisers a window to try and alert the victims and families as soon as possible.'He was caught red-handedOmar Nabi, whose father Haji Daoud Nabi was killed in the attack, said he learned of the guilty plea just as he was about to go into prayer."It's about time. His plea should have been earlier but it's good he's changed his mind. And good to have it done," he said."There shouldn't have been a trial anyway. At end of the day the proof's in the pudding and he was caught red-handed, it speaks for itself."Justice Mander admitted it was "regrettable" to hold the hearing without any victims or family members being present, especially given the " obvious reasons of health and safety that apply at this extraordinary time".But he felt it could be managed if numbers inside the courtroom were severely limited. He said today signalled a "very significant step" in bringing finality to the proceedings.In the...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Countdown supermarkets have placed temporary limit on all products, excluding produce and serviced deli, due to unprecedented demand following the coronavirus outbreak.It comes as its competitior goes on a hiring spree to cope with demand.From today, there is a limit of two similar items per customer visit across all Countdown stores and online shopping services.Baby food (pouches, tins and jars) will have a limit of six.Countdown said in a statement, the new rule meant customers will only be able to buy a maximum of two packs of toilet paper, two packs of mince, two packets of chicken, two loaves of bread, two cans of baked beans etc.It has also reduced store trading hours nationwide. All Countdown stores will close tonight at 9pm and from tomorrow, all stores and online shopping services will trade from 9am to 8pm across the country.Countdown managing director Natalie Davis said the message to New Zealand remained the same: "We are not running out of food"."We have plenty of food in our supply chain, however we simply cannot get it through the network fast enough if Kiwis don't slow down their shopping. This is the only way we can try to manage demand."While this may be frustrating or inconvenient for some customers, we need to provide our team with the time and ability they need to get as much product on shelf as possible during this time of extraordinary demand. If the store is too busy, we will be managing the number of people who can be in our stores at any one time for the safety and wellbeing of our team and other customers."David asked all New Zealanders to respect the limits and only buy what they needed to help as many Kiwis as possible access food and other groceries."We have every truck on the road possible, and every team member possible working to support our stores and online services, and we're hiring more. Every truck that has to go out full of toilet paper means that regular supermarket supplies can't get through."We're also working on ways to ensure that customers who need a bit more assistance can get the help they need in our stores and online."We would ask all our customers to continue to be kind, consider others and consider what you've got in your pantry already."Our teams continue to work tirelessly under difficult circumstances, so we ask that they are treated kindly and respectfully. We thank our customers for their continued patience and support as together we work through these challenging times together."Meanwhile, Countdown's competitor Foodstuffs - which includes New World and Pak'n Save - is looking for more than 400 staff - over 300 of those are for its stores - as it grapples with a surge in demand.Supermarkets around Auckland have notices up in their windows seeking urgent help within their stores, some supermarkets have resorted to opening one hour later than usual in the mornings to allow enough time for staff to restock shelves.Earlier today, Steve Anderson, South Island CEO for Foodstuffs told shoppers to "take a deep breath" and "shop normally".He said supermarkets were under "huge pressure" and staff were incredibly tired from dealing with the surge of shoppers.Demand was "just above" levels seen at Christmas time, he said."We can handle these sorts of volumes. But we plan for a long time for Christmas. The issue here is that it's arrived and it's unplanned."He said there was no problem with the supply of groceries because most everyday produce was locally-made."While we are currently experiencing a run on demand, it is not a supply issue. Our supply chain is very robust," he said."We are fortunate that many of our everyday grocery essentials are made or manufactured right here in New Zealand."He added: "Shop normally. Our teams have everything in hand and if we all purchase as usual there will be no issues."Competing...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jacinda Ardern says airlines have not experienced this level of disruption since 9-11, and the impact goes well beyond that.Air New Zealand's getting a $900 million cash injection from the Government, as it struggles to deal with the fall out from COVID-19.The Prime Minister told Kerre McIvor the situation is unprecedented.Jacinda Ardern is also allaying concerns by some on whether our borders should have closed sooner.Only returning New Zealand residents and citizens are being allowed in, as the Government tries to limit cases of COVID-19.Ardern told Kerre McIvor no country has made that decision with only 28 cases.LISTEN TO THE AUDIO ABOVE AS JACINDA ARDERN SPEAKS TO KERRE MCIVORSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Qantas and Jetstar are suspending international flights from the end of the month.The move has been triggered by the public health response to the coronavirus crisis although there would be some ''ad hoc'' services possible.The Qantas group is also standing down two-thirds of its 30,000 strong workforce.The will be a 60 per cent reduction to domestic flights in Australia and Jetstar will cut services in New Zealand to a third of what they are now.Earlier this week, cuts to 90 per cent of international flying and about 60 per cent of domestic flying were announced by Qantas and Jetstar.With the Federal Government now recommending against all overseas travel from Australia, regularly scheduled international flights will continue until late March to assist with repatriation and will then be suspended until at least the end of May 2020.Qantas is in ongoing discussions with the Federal Government about continuation of some strategic links.More than 150 aircraft will be temporarily grounded, including all of Qantas' A380s, 747s and B787-9s and Jetstar's B787-8s. Discussions are progressing with airports and government about parking for these aircraft.Essential domestic, regional and freight connections will be maintained as much as possible.Jetstar Auckland-Christchurch flights will fall to 14 return services per week, down from 42 and Wellington-Christchurch to 14 return services per week, down from 42.Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce said the efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus have led to a huge drop in travel demand.''This is having a devastating impact on all airlines,'' he said."We're in a strong financial position right now, but our wages bill is more than $4 billion a year. With the huge drop in revenue we're facing, we have to make difficult decisions to guarantee the future of the national carrier.With 150 aircraft on the ground there was no work for most of the staff.''Rather than lose these highly skilled employees who we'll need when this crisis passes, we are instead standing down two-thirds of our 30,000 employees until at least the end of May."Most staff would be using various types of paid leave during this time."This is a very hard set of circumstances for our people, as it is for lots of parts of the community right now.''See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Craig Heatley is the founder of Sky TV and is a businessman and entrepreneur.He is one of a group of New Zealand entrepreneurs calling on the Government to introduce tougher measures to protect the nation against the impact of coronavirus.Craig Heatley joins Kerre McIvor to explain why he is taking this action.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Drought-ravaged areas of New Zealand will receive almost $12.5 million in support from the Government as rural New Zealand continues to grapple with the economic impacts of the big dry.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern unveiled the spending package this afternoon.She acknowledged the rural sector, particularly in the North Island, was "doing it tough" with significant and sustained droughts in many areas.The $12.4 million spending package includes:$10 million to respond to immediate needs such as delivering water for consumption, sanitation, wastewater systems, stock welfare and horticulture;$2 million to support farmers and growers following today's large-scale drought classification across the North Island, parts of the South Island and the Chathams; and$421,000 to extend the reach of Rural Assistance Payments – which can be used to buy water."Water is running low across the board – for drinking supplies, the primary sector and firefighting storage – and we will help our communities to get through it," Ardern said.The package, according to Ardern, will focus on solving immediate needs which cannot be fixed through existing sources and suppliers.It would also ensure adequate water supply to North Island communities.Ardern said sustained rainfall would be needed to break the drought in the upper North Island.No significant rainfall is forecast until May.Meanwhile, Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare said the longer the extreme drought conditions continue, the greater the threat to water supplies that are already severely restricted in some places."Northland is particularly vulnerable with severe water restrictions already in place, a high number of people on water tanks, and significant areas of deprivation."We must act now to have the systems and support in place to assist communities already stressed by drought conditions and the associated water shortages,'' he said.Today's spending announcement is in addition to some $2 million, from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) which has been allocated for temporary water supplies for Kaitaia and Kaikohe.The Defence Force is already in the process of carrying out deployments to help with essential water resupply through tanker trucks and crew.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kerre McIvor is not impressed by the latest alleged scandal surrounding the NRL. Kiwis forward Corey Harawira-Naera and Bulldogs teammate Jayden Okunbor are alleged to have taken two girls, who they reportedly met at a school visit, back to their hotel rooms on a pre-season trip to Port Macquarie.The NRL's issued the pair with show-cause notices.Neither player is under criminal investigation and the females are over the age of consent. No complaint has been laid with the club by them or their families.However the Bulldogs claim the pair have allegedly behaved in a way that breaches the NRL rules and the club's code of conduct.Both have been stood down ahead of the competition opener against the Eels tomorrow night.The story has still generated headlines and outrage, much to the chagrin of McIvor. "There are no reports of these schoolgirls being dragged by the hair, kicking and screaming, back to the hair. There are no reports of the players being unduly coerced by the players. So where's the scandal?"While the girls are at school, McIvor says that the only fault appears to be that the players didn't meet team guidelines. "These girls are not victims. I wish the media, the community, the social media watchdogs, ready to shriek and take offence and blame and shame, would differentiate.  Not all women who choose to have sex with men are victims.  Stop infantalising women."However, McIvor says that women cannot have their cake and eat it too - advocate for sexual freedom and choice, but then claim victimhood when women do that.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.