Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

The Government has announced hundreds of thousands of young people who are not fully protected against measles will be offered vaccinations against the deadly disease for free.Schools and marae will help deliver the vaccines, with an emphasis on those aged 15-29.Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter made the announcement today in Auckland in a bid to close the "overdue" immunisation gap to protect the health of communities."About 300,000 young people aged between 15 and 29 are not fully protected against measles, and this Government is determined to strengthen public health and address under-immunisation," Genter said."Young adults have much lower immunity rates to measles because they were not immunised as children. We are overdue to address that immunisation gap to protect the health of communities."Under-immunised people are at risk of catching and spreading this highly-infectious disease, as we saw last year with a measles outbreak in New Zealand. Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect and prevent future outbreaks.District health boards will be tasked with delivering the vaccine programme."Measles immunisation will be more readily available at easy to access places like schools, workplaces, pharmacies and maraes," Genter said,"There will be a focus on improving access and equity for Māori and Pacific young adults in particular."The Government is committing $23 million today to strengthen New Zealand's immunisation system, with more money to come. Included in that funding is $1.4 million for a business case to rebuild our National Immunisation Register to ensure better access to immunisation information."More than 350,000 additional Measles Mumps Rubella (MMR) vaccines are earmarked for the campaign, and are expected to arrive in April after a six month manufacturing process."In 2019, more than 370,000 MMR vaccines were distributed compared to 150,000 in 2018. I'm looking forward to our health system hitting new milestones as the campaign rolls out this year."I am proud that this Government has heeded the call from medical professionals, that started in 2015, to run a catch up campaign to address measles."We are also progressing the review of the measles outbreak that happened last year to ensure we do all we can to learn from what happened."We all benefit when New Zealand has long term protection against future outbreaks of measles, mumps and rubella," Julie Anne Genter says.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newsroom's Bernard Hickey has been pondering what another 1989-style rewrite would look like for New Zealand?In 1989, a generation of baby-boomer leaders revolted at Robert Muldoon's conservatism and rewrote the nation's software.It meant that after years of toeing the lines, restaurants were suddenly opened later, homosexuality was discussed openly, and Māori were given new opportunities.So what could Gen X/Y/Zers do if they win power in the next decade?Hickey joined Kerre McIvor to discuss their own experiences at the time and what the future could hold.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An NZME radio host is among dozens of stranded trampers rescued in Fiordland.Evacuations in Fiordland are well underway with several tramping groups safely on the ground in Te Anau at a Civil Defence centre.But hundreds more people remain trapped in Milford Sound after extreme weather hit Fiordland yesterday.A state of emergency was declared in the area as heavy rain and slips trapped tourists on tracks and roads and closed State Highway 94, the only route to the sound.Helicopters have been in the air since 7.40am after a brief delay due to heavy rain and low cloud, with intentions of rescuing around 100 trampers.State Highway 94 - the only route to Milford Sound - is closed due to landslides causes by extreme weather, leaving hundreds of tourists trapped. Photo / NZ Transport AgencyJamie McKay - host of The Country on Hokonui, Newstalk ZB and Radio Sport - had been taking a guided walk along the Hollyford Track when the extreme weather hit.He told Newstalk ZB's Kerre McIvor their group of 14 trampers and five staff had got off lightly - they were staying at Martins Bay, where water rose to ankle deep."Talking to some of the other evacuated trampers this morning, there literally have been some near-death experiences. At the Howden Hut on the Routeburn Track a landslide ripped through about one o'clock this morning and wiped out the end of the building."I was talking to a young guy whose head was missed by a tree by about 18 inches. That's how lucky they were."A Wellington family in the McKerrow Island Hut also had a close shave."The water kept rising and rising and rising and they were stranded on this island effectively. They thought their days were done and they had to smash some windows and get out on the roof."The family had been winched to safety this morning.A Wellington family had to smash the windows and climb onto the roof of McKerrow Hut to escape the rising water. Image / Department of ConservationSearch and Rescue staff had told McKay the Homer Tunnel had received 55mm of rain in one hour, which was thought to be a record.McKay's tramping group had been split in half - his wife was among those still waiting to be rescued.He was rescued by helicopter - flown by Sir Richard Hayes - and taken to the Fiordland Events Centre, where they and other evacuees were given a hot cup of tea.He had been lucky to be part of a well-prepared guided tour but "some of the people are really frightened and really cold and really hungry".Flying out this morning, he could see entire hillsides had been eroded."There's going to be some incredible repair work needing to be done in Fiordland," he said.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A youth programme in Huntly is achieving impressive results, and as a consequence, the teen crime rate is plummeting.Oranga Rangatahi is a programme run by Oranga Tamariki in collaboration with other agencies, and is aimed at at-risk youth.Running since 2016, Oranga Rangatahi has also contributed to a 68 per cent drop in offending rates for the children involved in the programme.Leon Wharekura, the youth worker who helped establish the programme, joined Kerre McIvor to discuss the programme's success.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand author Nicky Pellegrino discusses controversial new novel American Dirt with Kerre McIvor above. CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet explores the debate below.Oprah Winfrey's new message is clear: You won't be able to put this book down."From the first page, the first sentence, I was in, I was open, I was shook up," she says in a video announcing the novel "American Dirt" as her next book club pick. "It woke me up, and I feel that everybody who reads this book is actually going to be immersed in the experience of what it means to be a migrant on the run for freedom."But some Latinos are responding with a message of their own: We won't be picking this book up, and neither should you."American Dirt" tells the story of a Mexican woman and her son fleeing to the US after a drug cartel massacre devastates their family. It's billed as "a 'Grapes of Wrath' for our times" and "a new American classic."But Jeanine Cummins, the author, isn't Mexican or a migrant. And for some would-be readers, that's a problem that can't be erased by plugs from celebrities or promotion from publishers.The novel, already being adapted into a movie, has become the latest flashpoint in a growing debate about representation, cultural appropriation and whether artists can -- or should -- tell stories about identities they don't know firsthand.It's an argument that's raged in response to music and movies, too -- remember when Jennifer Lopez sang Motown and Emma Stone played a character of Chinese and Hawaiian descent?And now the debate has detonated yet again, thanks to a 392-page book with barbed wire criss-crossing its cover.A book party with barbed wire decorationsOprah's Book Club picks have a reputation for their hefty influence in the publishing industry. Winning the billionaire's blessing can send a book to the top of the bestseller list as adoring fans and avid readers scramble to get a copy.It's been called "the Oprah Effect." Toni Morrison's books, for example, reportedly got more of a sales boost from Oprah's endorsements than from the author's Nobel Prize.That could happen for "American Dirt," too. Amazon is already listing the book among its most popular titles.Debate over "American Dirt" had already bubbled up before Oprah's announcement Tuesday. The book had garnered some rave reviews and praise from authors like Stephen King, Don Winslow and Sandra Cisneros, but also fierce criticism in some corners from reviewers who'd read it and some authors who vowed they never would.But when Oprah blessed the book, the conversation kicked into overdrive.Critics accuse Cummins -- who reportedly got a seven-figure book deal for "American Dirt" after a bidding war between publishing houses -- of relying on stereotypes to paint an inauthentic picture of Mexican migrants, and exploiting trauma and pain for profit.And their outrage grew this week as tweets surfaced showing the author celebrating the book at a dinner featuring floral centerpieces wrapped with barbed wire and sporting a manicure featuring the barbed wire design that's on her book cover.The author wrote that she 'wished someone slightly browner' would tell the storyIn an author's note included in the book, Cummins acknowledges she grappled with whether she should be the one to write it."I worried that my privilege would make me blind to certain truths, that I'd get things wrong, as I may well have. I worried that, as a nonmigrant and non-Mexican, I had no business writing a book set almost entirely in Mexico, set entirely among migrants. I wished someone slightly browner than me would write it," she says."But then, I thought, If you're a person who has the capacity to be a bridge, why not be a bridge? So I began."Cummins, who has described herself as white, also says in the note that her Puerto Rican grandmother's experience coming to the United States inspired her....See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NBA players, coaches, entertainers and politicians took to social media and other outlets Sunday to express their shock and sadness over the helicopter crash that took the life of former basketball great Kobe Bryant, an 18-time All-Star and five-time NBA champion.Pau Gasol, a former teammate of Bryant's with the Lakers, tweeted, "Beyond devastated... my big brother... I can't, I just can't believe it."Philadelphia 76ers center Joe Embiid said that he started playing basketball after watching Bryant in the 2010 NBA Finals."I had never watched ball before that and that finals was the turning point of my life," Embiid wrote on Twitter. "I WANTED TO BE LIKE KOBE. I'm so FREAKING SAD right now!!!!"Bryant was 41.Former Lakers star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar tweeted that "Most people will remember Kobe as the magnificent athlete who inspired a whole generation of basketball players. But I will always remember him as a man who was much more than an athlete."And former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen added: "I'm stunned. Words can't even come close to describing it. Just an incredibly sad and tragic day."The Spurs and the Raptors honoured Bryant at the start of their game Sunday.They did not participate in the tip off to start the game. Instead, Fred VanVleet took the ball and held onto it for a 24-second shot clock violation, to honour Bryant's former number he wore with the Lakers. Dejounte Murry then did the same thing for the Spurs. The crowd was chanting "Kobe! Kobe!" as this was going on. Lonnie Walker IV is visibly upset. He was crying and wiping away tears during pre-game as the Spurs honored Kobe with a moment of silence.Syracuse University men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim previously worked with Bryant with Team USA. Bryant won two gold medals for the United States in 2008 and 2012."He was not only one of the greatest basketball players ever, he was also the hardest working player I've ever been around," Boeheim tweeted. "I was so fortunate to have known him and coached him with Team USA. Our thoughts and our prayers are with his wife, Vanessa, and the Bryant family."Bryant's death reverberated beyond sports. In 2018, he won an Academy Award in the animated short film category.Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom issued a statement regarding about Bryant that read:"We mourn the tragic and untimely death of a California icon and basketball legend, Kobe Bryant. In his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, he made history with raw talent and unparalleled dedication that raised the bar and paved the way for a newer generation of players."Rick Ross called it "a huge loss for the game," while fellow rapper Wyclef Jean tweeted that Bryant was a "true gladiator of life."Actress Reese Witherspoon tweeted: "Just devastated to hear about #KobeBryant. An extraordinary athlete, and a genuinely kind, wonderful man. Sending love, prayers & compassion to his family. To his entire @NBA family as well."The Rev. Jesse Jackson weighed in, too."As I tweet through my tears, I am so hurt," Jackson tweeted. "I cannot stop crying. Kobe was instrumental to so many people. There is a hole in the basketball world and there will be for a long time. Rest in heavenly peace."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An interesting call from Tony on how and why he got into gang life and why he got out. Listen to the audio above as Kerre McIvor talks to caller Tony about gang life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland has been reduced to a maze of orange traffic cones and one-lane roads as 33 city centre streets are disrupted by road works.Traffic in some areas of the CBD in recent days - including part of Victoria St - has been clogged by gridlockListen to the audio above as Kerre McIvor talks about Auckland's never ending roadworks, which are crippling parts of the city.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has confirmed new regulations for the manufacturing and distribution of medicinal cannabis products. CEO of NUBU Pharmaceuticals Mark Dye joins Kerre McIvor to talk about the changes.LISTEN TO THE AUDIO ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week is the Centre for Brain Research celebrates its 10th anniversary.Ten years of world-class research conducted right here in Aotearoa, New Zealand at the University of Auckland.The Centre for Brain Research was officially established by Distinguished Professor Sir Richard Faull, who had a dream of providing a world-class research centre, looking at neurological disorders such as stroke, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, motor neuron disease and many more.Distinguished Professor Sir Richard Faull joined Kerre McIvor this morning.LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.