Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

A new political poll has once again shown bad news for National, but does it really matter? The Colmar Brunton poll for 1 News puts Labour on 48 per cent and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on 51 per cent approval.For National, they were down to 40 per cent, while Simon Bridges is lingering on five per cent. Kerre McIvor argues that while Simon Bridges needs to go, the new 1News poll doesn't reflect the Government's policy plans.But, given that the elections aren't for another 18 months, is there any point in getting worked up over polling now?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

April will see some of the biggest tax changes in a generation. Starting next week, Inland Revenue will be updating their technological systems, but they will also be implementing new changes that will modernise the tax system.Inland Revenue Commissioner Naomi Ferguson joined Kerre McIvor to discuss the changes and how they will impact on New Zealanders.One of the big changes will be refunding wage and salary earners who have changed jobs throughout the tax year if they paid too much because of that change, or a new bill if they didn't pay the bill. "We've stood back and thought about how we can modernise the system," Ferguson says.She is confident that the IRD will get it right, as they have run over 90,000 tests over the last year to ensure the new system will work properly. Ferguson also answered questions from talkback callers about all things tax. LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Changes to provide greater support for domestic violence victims come into force today.The Domestic Violence Victims' Protection Act enhances legal protections in the workplace for people affected by domestic or family violence.It gives victims the right to 10 days of leave and flexible working conditions.The Bill was introduced by Green MP Jan Logie, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Domestic and Sexual Violence, and was passed last July.Jan Logie told Kerre McIvor it is a practical measure to help victims stay in work."We have really good research telling us, a bit more than half of the domestic violence victims who start that relationship in a job, lose that job over the course of the relationship...and that keeps them trapped in a violent relationship."She said victims often struggle to get time off work to go to court to ensure their safety.Logie said this Bill also means victims are less likely to be financially reliant on a violent relationship.She also acknowledged this is just one part of helping solve New Zealand's domestic violence issue.DO YOU NEED HELP?If you're in danger now:• Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours of friends to ring for you.• Run outside and head for where there are other people.• Scream for help so that your neighbours can hear you.• Take the children with you.• Don't stop to get anything else.• If you are being abused, remember it's not your fault. Violence is never okay.Where to go for help or more information:• Shine, free national helpline 9am-11pm every day - 0508 744 633.• Women's Refuge: Free national crisis line operates 24/7 - 0800 refuge or 0800 733 843.• Shakti: Providing specialist cultural services for African, Asian and Middle Eastern women and their children. Crisis line 24/7 0800 742 584 • It's Not Ok: Information line 0800 456 450.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Sandy Hook survivor has offered her advice on how to move forward and heal after a mass shooting. On 14 December 2012, 20 children and six adults were massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.It was an attack that shocked the world, but it was a million times worse for the community and those inside the school who survived.Kaitlyn Roig-Debellis is the Year 1 teacher who saved her class of 15 six-and-seven-year-olds from the gunman, by piling them into a single-occupancy bathroom within her classroom, mere feet from the brutal massacre taking place outside the door.Kaitlyn wrote about her experience in a memoir called "Choosing Hope".She told Kerre McIvor every time there is another shooting, it takes her back to her own experience."It's so difficult to wrap your mind around how there can be so many hateful feelings that people feel their only option is hurting someone else."Roig-Debellis said after Sandy Hook, her sense of safety was gone."I could not go anywhere in public, I could not leave my home alone, I could not stay home alone. I was just terrified of life, I was terrified that something horrible would happen at any second because now, of course, I knew that it could."She said in the aftermath she was constantly asking herself why it happened."Why did it happen? Why our school I particular? Why innocent lives, 20 of whom were babies, six and seven-year-old children, why?""What I came to realise what that I was never going to be able to answer the why. Not then, not now, not ever, those questions will never be answered."However, she said there are questions that can be answered and it's important to focus on them."I stopped focusing so hard on why and I started focusing on what could be done and I found a lot of strength in that."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Christchurch massacre has shown that violent extremism is a global threat.It has focused the world's attention on the rise of far-right extremism and also on the role of tech companies in spreading their ideologies. EXIT Sweden is an organisation that helps to leave violent extremism and come back to society. They also meet and help people who are on their way to radicalisation.Robert Örell is a director at Exit Sweden. He told Kerre McIvor extremist groups are very good at appealing to isolated people longing for a sense of meaning and create an environment for that."Most clients learn it as part of a social process. You get to know people in these environments and you get introduced to the idea of radicalisation."LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A child abuse expert says the allegations against Michael Jackson align with many predatory patterns.An explosive documentary called Leaving Neverland, which detailed Michael Jackson's alleged child abuse, hit New Zealand screens last night.It focuses on two men who say they were sexually abused by the King of Pop when they were children.The film paints the King of Pop as a manipulative child abuser.Dr Nadia Wager is a Reader in Forensic Psychology at the University of Huddersfield. She told Kerre McIvor Mornings a lot of young children who may have experienced sexual abuse have no idea that it's wrong."How would a child know what is wrong and right at that age? There are a lot of things we do to children as parents which they don't like. From making them eat Brussel Sprouts to not allowing them to have sweets before bed."It may just be another thing for young children which they don't particularly like, but many of them wouldn't know what to say. "Wager says as parents, it's important to make sure you know what is going on in your children's lives and to have open and honest conversations with them."It's a big thing now to not encourage secrets. It's very easy to get into, to say 'it's our secret', we have to stop doing that. There is nothing wrong with surprises, but when you have secrets with kids, it's not a very healthy situation"Contrary to popular belief, Wager says predators often aren't intimidating or frightening, they're actually very friendly to the children."They can be responsible for many good experiences, shared confidences, and boosted self-esteem which is all part of the grooming process."The second part of the documentary Leaving Neverland screens in New Zealand tonight.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Laura McQuillan is a New Zealand freelance journalist in Canada. Listen to the audio above as she speaks to Kerre McIvor about the scandal which continues to follow Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.A leading Cabinet minister in Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government resigned Monday, becoming the second minister to step down over a scandal that has shaken the government in an election year.Treasury Board president Jane Philpott, considered a star minister, said in a resignation letter that it was "untenable" for her to continue in the Cabinet because she lost confidence and could not defend the government.Philpott's friend, former Attorney General and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, testified last week that Trudeau and senior members of his government inappropriately tried to pressure her to avoid prosecution of a major Canadian engineering company in a case involving allegations of corruption in Libya.Wilson-Raybould resigned from Cabinet last month after being demoted to veteran affairs minister the month before.The scandal has rocked Trudeau's government. Gerald Butts, his closet adviser and best friend, also resigned last month and is scheduled to testify Wednesday before a Parliament justice committee in Trudeau's defense."I know Philpott has felt this way for some time. And while I am disappointed, I understand her decision to step down. I want to thank her for her service," Trudeau said at a campaign-style event.Trudeau said he takes the concerns very seriously and said the matter has generated an important discussion."But at the same time, we need to keep in mind the bigger picture," Trudeau said.Trudeau has acknowledged raising the issue with Wilson-Raybould, but has said that was appropriate."I have concluded that I must resign as a member of Cabinet," Philpott wrote. "Sadly, I have lost confidence in how the government has dealt with this matter and in how it has responded to the issues raised."Philpott, a physician, is a former minister of health and minister of indigenous services and was widely viewed as of one of Trudeau's most competent Cabinet ministers."The evidence of efforts by politicians and/or officials to pressure the former Attorney General to intervene in the criminal case involving SNC-Lavalin, and the evidence as to the content of those efforts have raised serious concerns for me," Philpott wrote."I must abide by my core values, my ethical responsibilities and constitutional obligations. There can be a cost to acting on one's principles, but there is a bigger cost to abandoning them."Philpott said she would continue as a Parliament member for Trudeau's Liberal Party.Wilson-Raybould said the same last week but declined to say she had confidence in Trudeau. Trudeau said earlier Monday he was still deciding whether Wilson-Raybould could remain a member of his party in Parliament.Trudeau thanked Philpott for her service in a short statement that said he would have more to say later in Toronto.The leader of the opposition Conservative Party, Andrew Scheer, said at a news conference that Philpott's resignation demonstrates "a government in total chaos" and called again for Trudeau to resign and for a police investigation of the affair.Wilson-Raybould testified last week she was pressured to instruct the director of public prosecutions to negotiate a remediation agreement with SNC-Lavalin. The agreement would have allowed the company to pay reparations but avoid a criminal trial on charges of corruption and bribery. But Wilson-Raybould said the pressure was not illegal and said she was not instructed to interfere.If convicted criminally, the Montreal-based company would be banned from receiving any federal government business for a decade. SNC-Lavalin is an economic force in Canada, with 9,000 employees in the country and about 50,000 worldwide."This is a...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new survey has allegedly shown that New Zealanders are in favour of more local government control. Kerre McIvor asks if that is really what we want, citing the many high wages in Auckland Council and around the country.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand has the highest death rate for teenagers and young people among 19 of the world's developed, wealthy countries.It also ranks poorly in terms of adolescent suicide, pregnancies and deaths related to cancer and respiratory illness, according to British healthcare think tank Nuffield Trust.Neuroscience educator Nathan Wallis told Kerre McIvor that these results are concerning. "We've got this idea that New Zealand is this wonderful, clean, green, beautiful nation that is a wonderful place to raise children, so this paints a different picture."New Zealand had by far the highest mortality rate for people aged 10 to 24 years - around 35 deaths per 100,000 people.This was driven by its relatively high youth suicide rate and youth road toll. In these areas, New Zealand ranked near or at the bottom of the rankings at nearly every level - early teens, late teens and over-20s.Wallis said a number of issues are to blame for the shocking statistics and that it won't just be one thing.He said one of the challenges facing New Zealand is our childcare, which has moved away from a focus on 'free play' and resiliance. "In the last fifteen years, we’ve wanted to teach our three, four, five-year-olds literacy and numeracy instead of doing the free play that would build up resilience, so I think that's one factor."Wallis also said that research shows that having a parent at home during the first year of life has also eroded away.“You’re essentially data-gathering in the first thousand days of life. The best way to maximise that potential is to have an at-home parent.”He adds that the exam system needs to be re-examined, as weekly assessments put New Zealand students in a constant state of anxiety.Young Māori men are over-represented in these statistics, which Wallis puts down to racism and ignorance.“A lot of the reason we have such a negative rate is because we are still quite a racist country, and it's quite hard to be Māori and have high self-esteem in this country."We don’t teach Te Reo at schools. We don’t learn about New Zealand history. There’s a prevailing view in the country that Maori are inferior."The study's broad definition of adolescence - 10 to 24 years - is based on scientific evidence that humans' brains are not fully mature until at least 24."It is quite distressing on the health front," said Associate Professor Joe Boden, who works on the 30-year-old Christchurch Health and Development Study. "This is where you are developing life habits, essentially," said Boden. "Diet, exercise - these things get established during this period."So it's really important that you're able to find ways to help kids through this in a healthy manner. And comparing ourselves internationally, we're not doing very well."The British study creates a different picture of adolescence in New Zealand to various longitudinal studies, which broadly show that young people are thriving."The majority of kids do have some problems here and there, but they generally grow up pretty healthy and happy and they're well-educated," said Boden."So it doesn't shake my belief that New Zealand is a good place to grow up. But in terms of rare events or severe outcomes, we're not doing particularly well in those areas as you can see from general mortality, years of life lost, and smoking and obesity."New Zealand fared better in some areas, in particular the number of youth not in employment or training (NEET), and diabetes rates, where it placed in the middle of the pack.Out of all the indicators in the report, suicide was possibly the most concerning. While most indicators were trending downwards, the youth suicide rate in New Zealand had been steady for 12 years.The Government hopes to address this through its Mental Health Inquiry, which is specifically looking at the existing work on suicide prevention.A...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

LISTEN TO KERRE MCIVOR TALK WITH CODY WEDDLE, VENEZUELAN CORRESPONDENT FROM SAN ANTONIO DEL TACHIRAOppositionleader Juan Guaido has called on the international community to consider "all options" to resolve Venezuela's crisis, a dramatic escalation in rhetoric that echoes comments from the Trump administration hinting at potential U.S. military involvement.Guaido's comments late Saturday came after a tumultuous day that saw President Nicolas Maduro's forces fire tear gas and buckshot on activists trying to deliver humanitarian aid in violent clashes that left two people dead and some 300 injured.For weeks, the U.S. and regional allies had been amassing emergency food and medical kits on Venezuela's borders in anticipation of carrying out a "humanitarian avalanche" by land and sea to undermine Maduro's rule.With activists failing to penetrate government blockades and deliver the aid, Guaido announced late Saturday that he would escalate his appeal to the international community — beginning with a meeting Monday in Colombia's capital with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on the sidelines of an emergency summit of leaders of the so-called Lima Group to discuss Venezuela's crisis.He said he would urge the international community to keep "all options open" in the fight to restore Venezuela's democracy, using identical language to that of President Donald Trump, who in his public statements has repeatedly refused to rule out force and reportedly even secretly pressed aides as early as 2017 about the possibility of a military incursion.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also stepped up the belligerent rhetoric, saying on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that Maduro's "days are numbered."A close Guadio ally, Julio Borges, the exiled leader of congress who is Guaido's ambassador to the Lima Group, was even more explicit in urging a military option. "We are going to demand an escalation of diplomatic pressure ... and the use of force against Nicolas Maduro's dictatorship," he said Sunday.It's a prospect that analysts warn risks fracturing a hard-won coalition of Latin American nations who've come together to pressure Maduro's socialist government. Most Latin American governments, even conservative ones like those in neighboring Colombia and Brazil, are on the record opposing a military solution and would face huge dissent should they back any military action led by the U.S., whose interventions in the region during the Cold War remain an open wound."These governments know they would face a huge tide of internal opinion greatly offended by a US-led invasion for historical and political reasons," said Ivan Briscoe, the Latin America director for the Crisis Group, a Belgium-based think tank.At the same time, though polls say Venezuelans overwhelmingly want Maduro to resign, almost an equal number reject the possibility of a foreign invasion to resolve the political impasse.Resting at the foot of the Simon Bolivar bridge as work crews in Colombia began removing debris left by the unrest, Claudia Aguilar said she would support a military invasion but worries it would lead to more bloodshed.The 29-year-old pregnant mother of three said she crossed illegally into Colombia on Sunday to buy a bag of rice and pasta for her family after Maduro ordered a partial closure of the border two days earlier."We're with fear, dear God, of what will happen," she said standing near the dirt trail she took to sneak across the border. "More blood, more deaths. The president of Venezuela does whatever he wants."In addition to weakening multilateral pressure against Maduro, analysts say the opposition saber rattling also risks undermining Guaido's goal of peeling off support from the military, the country's crucial powerbroker.The 35-year-old Guaido has won the backing of more than 50 governments around the world since declaring himself interim president at a rally in...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.