Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

As Iran faces a tough squeeze from US sanctions, they have announced plans to boost uranium enrichment this week to whichever levels it needs.It is the latest conflict between the two nations following the fallout from Donald Trump pulling the US out of the Iran nuclear deal.Kerre McIvor spoke with international relations expert Dr Robert Patman about the continued conflict between the two nations and what it means for the rest of the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TVNZ presenter Hayley Holt was called out for "discriminating" against men's sport in a heated on-air debate with renowned sports journalist Scotty Stevenson.Stevenson and Holt were discussing last week's historic clash between the Silver Ferns and the New Zealand Men's Invitational team in the Cadbury Netball Series live on Breakfast on Friday morning. The men's side, which went on to take out the series with an 11-goal win over the Silver Ferns in the grand final on Saturday, earned high praise for their performances, with many netball fans delighted by the challenge they gave the Ferns ahead of the Netball World Cup.But when Stevenson shared a similar view while appearing on Breakfast, Holt hit back, calling the match "weird". Matt Wetere of the NZ Men defends Maria Folau of the Silver Ferns. Photo / Getty"How good was that game last night," Stevenson said before Holt rebutted."Unfortunately for the Silver Ferns, they don't need men to actually push them anymore because they get pushed by everybody," she said.Shocked by the comment, Stevenson quickly questioned Holt's stance."So the New Zealand men's team who never get television coverage, who are not recognised by the international netball federation, get the chance to play on the biggest stage against these Silver Ferns and you're saying it's a bad idea?" he asked."They're taller, they're heavier, they can throw the ball harder, I just think it's weird," replied Holt.Stevenson, who looked gobsmacked by Holt's comments continued questioning how the clash wasn't the best preparation for the Silver Ferns before Breakfast presenter Daniel Faitaua stepped in, accusing Holt of "just discriminating against men"."They get no coverage, they get no support for their sport," Stevenson added after agreeing "massively" with Faitaua."Oh those poor men getting no coverage, this is like welcome to our world. Seriously, welcome to our world," Holt responded before Stevenson made one final dig saying: "It's amazing when it's a female sport on the other side of the conversation, look at the reaction."Footage of the debate has since been shared on social media, with many users agreeing with Stevenson.Meanwhile, the Silver Ferns have expressed their thanks to the men's team for a challenging series on social media."This week was seriously great. Always grateful, but seriously humbling playing these guys. Couldn't have had a better battle on court and the respect was immense," Ferns shooter Ameliaranne Ekenasio posted following the grand final.The Silver Ferns depart for Liverpool this week ahead of their opening Netball World Cup game against Malawi on July 12.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Companies with booming overseas sales and innovative offerings have been recognised for their outstanding achievements at the 2019 Air New Zealand Cargo ExportNZ awards.Exporters of goods and services from Northland, Auckland and Waikato came together in Auckland last night to celebrate at a sparkling awards evening.Adventure tourism company Haka Tourism Group, which incorporates educational and cultural experiences for tourists in New Zealand, won the Supreme Award for overall top performance in exporting.It also won the category of BDO Best Medium Business (services exports).LISTEN ABOVE AS KERRE MCIVOR TALKS TO THE HEAD OF HAKA TOURISM GROUP RYAN SANDERSSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The drug trade in Australia and New Zealand is having a devastating impact on the Pacific Islands.The quantity of trafficked drugs has exploded in the last five years - with Australia and New Zealand having the highest cocaine use per capita in the world.Jose Sousa Santos researches crime in the Pacific at Massey University and spoke to Kerre McIvor this morning.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group that supports rainbow young people is applauding a Christchurch all-boys' school for its support of a student who is transitioning gender.READ MORE: CHRIST'S COLLEGE WELCOMES FIRST NON-MALE STUDENTExecutive Director of Qtopia, Alice Anderson, says Christ's College is being very understanding.She told Kerre McIvor such a situation can be challenging for some."Gender is a social construct: This is an idea that we came up with to better understand one another," she said."It fits that perhaps our understanding of each other has to broaden as we grow greater development"Anderson says our institutions and organisations have to broaden their understanding along with us, to become more inclusive.LISTEN ABOVE AS ALICE ANDERSON TALKS TO KERRE MCIVORSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Caller Richard turned his life around after 20 plus years in and out of jail.  He came from a gang affiliated background but the catalyst of change for him was age and missing out on his kids' lives. He spent 15 years getting qualifications and is now a clinical practitioner working in the mental health field.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A local tobacco control expert has slammed the country’s hefty tobacco tax.It comes after 19-year-old Jerome Heke was sentenced to four years prison for stealing just four packets of cigarettes.The annual EY report last year found that, since January 2010, the Government has increased tobacco excise by at least CPI plus 10 per cent each year. The excise is currently 82.66 cents a cigarette. Dr Marewa Glover of the Centre of Research Excellence told Kerre McIvor that this sentence is really excessive, and the robberies only occur because of the high cigarette cost. "We've actually made this happen. Banging up the price caused a rise in robberies around the country."She says that the legal system should take this high demand into account when sentencing people. Dr Glower says that she used to support the tax increases, but the evidence over time has shown it does not work."45 per cent of Maori women between 18 and 24 smoke now, and that isn't reducing. There are vulnerable groups that are not stopping but are being affected as it is increasing." The current series of tax increases are scheduled to end in 2020.The report found that while the proportion of the adult population using tobacco had declined from 18.3 per cent in 2006/7 to 13.8 per cent in 2016/17, the gap in smoking rates for Māori and Pasifika remained significant – 2.7 times higher for Māori than non-Maori for example.The impact of excise increases on the spending habits of income households was disturbing, with fewer than half (47 per cent) of all smoking households responding to price rises by buying less tobacco.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National technology manager at Callaghan Innovation Kirsten Edgar joins Kerre McIvor to wrap tech week.New Zealand's annual festival of innovation is almost over, with this year's theme is innovation that is good for the world.Edgar says many global mega trends that are not tech trends, but are driving some changes in technology.She says Climate Change is one of those."Change in climate and the ways in which we can use technology to adapt to the change in climate or to mitigate it's affect s one of the things driving those to technology trends."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand Herald travel writer Thomas Bywater joins Kerre McIvor to talk about the upcoming submarine taxi launch in Australia.Tourism & Events Queensland and the ride-sharing app Uber are launching a submarine taxi on Heron Island on Monday. The project - named 'scUber' - will allow visitors to Queensland to order a submarine ride using the popular taxi app.The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world's greatest underwater wonders. David Attenborough calls it one of the most extraordinary places on the planet.Pilot Erika Bergman emerges from her submarine, with passengers Andy Ridley (left) and David Wachenfeld. (Photo / Thomas Bywater)Visitors to Queensland will be able to order a submarine-taxi via app. (Photo / Supplied)Susan Anderson (left) of Uber, Andy Ridley (middle) of Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, and Kate Jones Minister for Tourism Industry Development at Heron Island. (Photo / Thomas Bywater)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than 80 years on and the calls to make teaching our nation's history compulsory continue.A 3,000 signature petition's currently before Parliament, demanding New Zealand kids be made aware of our past.Auckland University Emeritus Professor in History Raewyn Dalziel says people have been pushing for this, for decades."In 1938, James Cowan was a major historian at the time and he talked about how the history of our own country is more important to us that the history of England or any other country in the world."She says it's a shame the conversation's still being had, because learning our history expands students' horizons."Then if they can transfer that understanding of their own country to a global context, their lives are so much enriched."The petition is open until June 10.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.