Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

Yesterday the Prime Minister spoke at the Local Government NZ (LGNZ) conference, warning councils to restrain their spending to the basics or run the risk of having your hand forced by central government.    Apparently, the remarks got a frosty reception – possibly because no one likes being told off and possibly because since Covid all some councils have been doing is going through their budgets line by line.    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown backed up the Prime Ministers thoughts on the Mike Hosking Breakfast this morning.    “The reality is, with an average 15% rate increase, our expectation is that councils get on with the work just like Government has had to do, go line by line, cut the waste, focus on the basics and ensure that they can pass those cost savings on to ratepayers at this cost of living crisis time. So, you know we're doing our part. We've also put in place Local Water Done Well, which gives councils far greater access financing for water infrastructure, that means they should be able to do that and reduce the cost burden on ratepayers.”  Simeon Brown also said yesterday: “Council rates are increasing by around 15 per cent on average this year, which is more than four times the rate of inflation. This is unacceptable and councils must ensure they are doing everything they can to reduce pressure on ratepayers.”    As difficult as it was to hear for some councils, it’s hard to argue with the sentiment, right?  Regardless of whether we’re tightening our belts after a global pandemic or not, we expect our councils to always be making sensible funding decisions. To focus on core council activities and maintain assets for the future.    This week we also saw the released of a report into Local Government performance, that warned councils were not replacing ageing infrastructure to the extent they should be.   Different councils around the country have different issues – but they have potential hefty rate rises in common and a need for central government to help fund infrastructure.    If yesterday’s speech was anything to go by, then the time for handouts is over. Councils are about to negotiate their city deals with central government to line up funding, and this speech is a clear warning to some councils you might have to adjust your spending and your wish list.    In regard to handing out cold hard cash to help councils, the Prime Minister made it very clear that the previous government might have taken that approach, but the party is over.    Simeon Brown, inspired by the New South Wales model, has also floated the idea of putting in place a regulator, which regulates what price increases can be put on for non-core programmes that councils do. The aim of this is to maintain cost controls for councils, something which he believes we’re not currently seeing. Is this necessary? It feels a little too controlling – but you might feel your local council needs another layer of control.    So, for cental government it’s all about rubbish, roads and water – and price caps.    As a rate payer, this all sounds good – but we all have different ideas of what should be a core function of a council. Are libraries and sports fields and parks as important as rubbish, roads and water?   What do you want to see your council spend money on? What are the priorities for you and what would you like dropped? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m not a perfect parent. I’ve learnt a lot on the job, but one thing I got right was making the call that I was not the right person to teach our children to drive – for both my sake, my children’s sake, and other drivers' sake.    It’s got nothing to do with my driving ability.  It's to do with temperament and patience and bravery – all characteristics my partner and their father excels in.    When your child gains their licence, you feel two conflicting emotions at once. Excitement over the fact your days as an Uber driver are coming to an end – even if your children had been good at getting around on buses, once they have their restricted license it does make life easier when they can drive themselves to an appointment, or pop to the supermarket to grab you a few things.    The other emotion is utter terror that your child is being unleashed on the roads. Are they ready? Will they cope with multi lanes and peak hour traffic? Will they stay off their phones?    And most importantly: do they realise they are not as good a driver as they think they are? Passing a test does not make you an expert – knowledge, time and experience are needed to work towards this. And even then, we’re not all experts!    As a parent I know the stats: 18–24-year-olds have the highest rate of road deaths in New Zealand.    They are nearly three times as likely to die in road crashes as 18–24-year-olds in Australia.    And this terrifies me.    The AA Research Foundation released some interesting research today.    They have examined driver licence systems in different countries and have highlighted key differences with New Zealand. It identifies measures with beneficial outcomes for novice drivers that could strengthen New Zealand’s licensing system.   There are 5 areas they would like the government to consider as they establish priorities for the next three years in its Road Safety Objectives Document due out later in the year.    They suggest we should:  1. Extend learner period from 6 months to 12 months to give novice drivers more time to accumulate supervised driving experience and develop safer practices   2. Mandatory supervised driving hours. Most Aussie and US states require 50-20 hours (including night hours) to be logged. A past Swedish study showed novice drivers with 120 hours of supervised driving experience were involved in 35% fewer crashes than those with 40-50 hours.     3. Sit a Hazard Perception Test to enhance young drivers' abilities to anticipate and react to potential hazards. The tests are undertaken in a safe environment such as a simulator or using video clips.   4. Zero blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit until their full license. Currently this is only for those under the age of 20.  5. And finally, tougher penalties for traffic offenses. The idea here would be that novice drivers start off with a lower threshold for demerit points, and any offences stay on their record for a longer time. The aim is this would serve as a deterrent against risky behaviours.   While it has made life easier for us for our son to get his learners licence at 16 and his restricted 6 months later – all I want is for my kid to get home safely. If we can reduce these statistics by making changes to the licencing system, give young drivers the opportunity to gain more experience and knowledge, then why wouldn’t you?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The learners licensing system is under the spotlight, with calls for New Zealand to adopt Australia's stricter approach. It comes after figures show young kiwis are responsible for a disproportionate number of road deaths.  The AA wants to double the learners licence period, implement supervised driving hours, and have tougher penalties for young drivers.  Road Safety Campaigner Greg Murphy told Francesca Rudkin that this is nothing new.  He said that we’ve been accepting these statistics for decades and have done very little to move the needle.  Murphy said that a lot of drivers aren’t prepared, and we can do much, much better and save a lot more lives through better preparedness.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To use a Love Island-ism, it looks like Chris Luxon appears to have been a slow burn on the nation since being sworn in as our Prime Minister in late November – but if the latest 1News-Verian poll is anything to go by, we appear to be warming to the man and his leadership.    The poll shows numbers for the governing parties remained largely unchanged, National remains steady on 38%, ACT remained steady on 7%, and NZ First remains steady on 6%.  Labour is up 1 on 30%, and Te Pati Māori is up 1 on 4%. The Greens dropped 2 points to 11%.    But the most interesting thing about this poll was the result for preferred Prime Minister. Christopher Luxon's is up 5 percentage points to 28% in the rankings. Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick and NZ First leader Winston Peters also saw small increases.   At the beginning of October last year Christopher Luxon was sitting at 26%, but in the last two 1News-Verian polls, he had dropped to 23% in the preferred Prime Minister stakes.   While the Prime Minister “doesn’t read too” much into polls, I imagine the National Party and Luxon will be quietly happy with the movement in this poll.    So, what does this say about where we are at? If you are a small or medium-sized business owner, do you feel like the country is at a turning point? Business Confidence in New Zealand increased to 27.10 points in July from 6.10 points in June of 2024. Is this down to the leadership you’re seeing?    While there was an appetite for change at the last election, the polls have revealed mixed feelings towards the coalition and the preferred Prime Minister stakes.    I would suggest that many of us are still viewing the economy and the direction of the country with a sense of caution. It feels like the ship has steadied somewhat, and that is what is being reflected in the poll.    In our household, we’re still very conscious of our spending. Notification of cost increases seem to be arriving in our inboxes monthly, so while tax cuts are appreciated, seeing the OCR final drop is a relief, and hearing the Government address overspending within government departments, it feels like we’re paused rather than moving forward at a great rate.    It’s worth noting this poll was taken before the OCR was lowered last week, I wonder if you take that into consideration and a few more pay cycles with the tax cut, will they make even more of a difference in the next poll?   How do you read this poll? Does it reflect how hopeful we are and changing times or is it more about an increase in confidence in the Prime Minister, his leadership and the way he is managing the coalition? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New Zealand Blood Service is calling out for desperately needed plasma.   The demand for so called 'liquid gold' grows by 10 percent each year, with supply not keeping up.  Based on the demand, they’ll need at least 150 more people to start donating regularly.  Transfusion Medicine Specialist Richard Charlewood told Francesca Rudkin the problem is that they’re reliant on other countries.  He said that it’s an American export business, and so when there’s a drop in donations—like there was during Covid— it’s an America-first policy, so we’re at risk by not being self-sufficient.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Commerce Commission's final report into New Zealand's banking sector is out.    It says competition isn't working as it should be in the banking sector, and consumers are missing out as a result.  The Commission says in a well-functioning market with strong competition, they'd expect to see more aggressive strategies to win customers from other banks.  Part of its answer is giving Kiwibank greater access to capital, to make it a stronger competitor to the Australian-owned banks.  Also part of the equation is rolling out open banking faster and making changes so it's easier for smaller banks to compete and for consumers to compare and switch banks.  NZ Herald Wellington Business Editor Jenée Tibshraeny told Francesca Rudkin that the issue is that for Kiwibank to grow, it needs more capital, but the Government’s finances are tight at the moment.  She said that in order for Kiwibank to grow, the Government would need to dilute its ownership and allow in capital from the private sector.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thanks to another announcement from the Transport Minister Simeon Brown over the weekend, the police have a new target to add to their 'To Do' list. The government has announced a crackdown on drunk and drugged drivers, setting the police a target of performing 3.3 million roadside alcohol tests a year and 50,000 roadside drug tests a year. Anything we can do to get impaired people off our roads and prevent the carnage they can cause is a good thing. It is a simple and effective deterrent to drink or drugged driving. I don’t know about you but I find getting breath tested a slightly nerve-wracking process, even if I haven’t dropped a drop. It works for me – the thought of a breath test is enough for me to make the most of Uber. The problem has been – you'd think we’d stopped testing. Up until about 3 weeks ago, I can't remember seeing a police breath testing checkpoint since before Covid. They were noticeably absent before the festive season – there always used to be checkpoints leading into Xmas as a reminder to us all to get that taxi or bus home from a work Christmas function. And then, as if to make up for the lack of testing, I recently got breath tested three times in the space of 15 minutes by the Royal Oak roundabout in Auckland. It was about 4pm on a Sunday afternoon – obviously they were after the Sunday Funday drinkers from a local pub or two – and they were stopping drivers on two different roads leading off the roundabout. I got done twice on the way to my friends to drop something off, and once again on the way home. I got the giggles by the third, which wasn’t helpful. Point is – bring it on. Last year was a bit of an outlier – the police did manage around 3.2 million breath tests – previous years it had been around 1.4 in 2018 and 2.1 in 2022. So it should be manageable. Keep it up. Be visible. Just knowing the police is keen to up their targets will hopefully mean more people make good decisions. The drug testing is a slightly different and interesting case. Getting roadside drug testing up and running has been a laborious process filled with complexities. In 2022 Labour passed legislation allowing for random roadside drug testing, but then they discovered they didn’t have a device that could record accurate results. Then another law change was introduced adding a lab test to back up the roadside test. Along the way there have also been concerns about people testing positive – even if they are not impaired, and how we monitor people using pharmaceutical drugs and making sure they are not impaired while driving. Under the coalition’s updated legislation, the plan is to use the same technology used in Australia. Transport Minister Simeon Brown explained how it would work to Tim Beveridge yesterday on the Weekend Collective “The legislation on that is currently before a Select Committee which is considering it, that is hopefully going to be passed shortly. Police then need to go through a procurement process in order to identify the test and to then procure one, then they'll roll it out. I mean, if you look at what they do in Australia, what they do is take a swab of your saliva within your mouth, they put it into a little kit, and that kit then identifies where the drugs are present to a certain standard. So that's what we expect will be implemented here in New Zealand. And as I said, legislation is currently before the Parliament, so we can now, we can roll that out and actually roll it out successfully. The last government passed legislation, but it required those tests to be an evidentiary standard, whereas most countries use this from a screening perspective, knowing that the tests aren't 100% accurate. But it will have a checks and balances in place, such as ensuring that you have to have two positive tests to actually be fined, can't just have one. You can have two and then evidentiary sample also has to be taken following that. So we've got checks and balances in place, but again, it's about sending the message if you're driving drugged or drunk on our roads, the police are going to be resourced to screen for it and then hold people to account for those dangerous behaviours which cause far too many deaths on our roads each year.” So under the proposed law, anyone who failed two roadside drug tests would be suspended from driving for 12 hours and could face further penalties, such as fines and demerit points. The oral fluid sample would also be sent for more sophisticated laboratory testing. It has been difficult getting roadside drug testing up and running – and it’s not perfect, and it might raise problems for a few people – but it really is time for it to be in place. The police need to have the resources to test people that they believe are impaired and take them off the road for all our sakes.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tougher alcohol laws for Auckland, including banning sales in supermarkets and liquor stores after 9pm, could be in place by December.  The council designed Local Alcohol Policy is aiming to reduce alcohol harm, and will come up for a council vote at the end of the month.  The policy would also see a two-year ban on new bottle stores in the central city and 23 other areas, unless they meet a very high threshold.  Sports Clubs and RSAs would also have stop selling alcohol after 1am, while bars and other on-licenses would have to stop at 4am in the CBD and 3am everywhere else.  Lawyer and Secretary of Communities Against Alcohol Harm, Dr Grant Hewison told Francesca Rudkin they welcome these changes.  He says Auckland, particularly the City Centre faces significant issues around alcohol related harm.   LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We spend a lot of time talking about alcohol harm, and yet we tend to do very little about it. Therefore, it is good to see Auckland Council has stuck to its guns and persisted in what they believe is a game changer for some communities.    After an 8-year court battle with supermarkets, Auckland Council looks set to place a ban on selling booze after 9pm in supermarkets and bottle stores in Auckland by December. Also on the cards is a two-year freeze on new liquor stores in the central city and 23 other areas with high alcohol-related harm and crime.  At the end of the day, how you drink is up to the individual. It is your health and your responsibility. But as a society, we all pay the price. Alcohol impacts our health and our mental wellbeing. It’s a factor in family violence, and crime, and creates unsafe communities and roads.  It adds to the workload of police, and emergency departments. We know the benefits to reducing alcohol harm.    So good on the Auckland Council for taking some responsibility. The aim of this Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) is to minimize alcohol-related harm in communities while balancing fair and reasonable requirements for businesses. So, you can still buy your alcohol, you might have to be a bit better organised, but if it is making it less available in communities that are seeing the brunt of the harm, then I say let’s give it a go.  Do we really need more than 100 liquor stores in South Auckland?  There are about 18 in the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board area, 18 in Manurewa, 29 in Ōtara-Papatoetoe, and 40 in Maungakiekie-Tāmaki. Sounds like enough to me. Gosh don’t you wish we’d been more proactive around vape stores? ...  Those working in this space are calling it a game-changer. Dr Grant Hewison, a lawyer who works on alcohol issues with two community groups in South Auckland, said the policy would lead to significant improvements in alcohol-related harm.  He believes that shifting the closing time regarding the sale of alcohol at supermarkets and liquor stores from 11 pm to 9pm will prevent pre-loading with cheaper alcohol outside licensed premises.    Manurewa- Papakura ward councilor Angela Dalton said on Breakfast TV this morning “easy access to alcohol is not helping our people who are really in distress from addiction and that goes across any age, any culture, it’s nondiscriminatory but it's certainly impacting our kids.    She went on to say the area has a young population, and children are walking past liquor outlets daily. She believes it’s subliminal messaging and they might be going home to places that are fueled by alcohol. She believes if we can calm that, this is going to be better off for everyone.      The new rules mean:  Supermarkets and bottle stores cannot sell alcohol after 9pm (the cut-off is 11pm now).  Bars, restaurants and other on-licences cannot sell alcohol later than 4am in the central city and 3am elsewhere.  Applications for new bottle stores in the central city and 23 other areas will be rejected for two years unless they meet a very high threshold.  Sports clubs and RSAs can sell alcohol no later than 1am.  No change for liquor licences for festivals and events. They will continue to be assessed by the district licencing committee.  I can work around this – it doesn’t need to be an issue for me – but if it helps other people and other communities, I am happy to deal with a small inconvenience of fewer sales hours.  You?   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So if you get good news, does it matter how the news is delivered?    When it comes to running the economy, and making decisions about refixing your mortgage, you could argue it does.    But let’s focus on the surprising, good news yesterday.  For the first time since March 2020, the  Reserve Bank cut the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 5.25%.  The reasoning for the cut is that New Zealand’s annual consumer price inflation is returning to within the Monetary Policy Committee’s 1 to 3% target band – it currently sits at 3.3 - but the indication is it will continue to decrease.     The Reserve Bank’s released a new forecast rate track that suggests the OCR will fall from here to at least 5% by the end of the year and to at least 4.5% by June next year.   This morning, Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr explained to the Mike Hosking Breakfast why the RBNZ made the decision to lower the OCR...   “Plenty of time and plenty of information has happened since May, and we've also communicated that as well. You know, we had a July monetary policy statement where we quite clearly showed our level of, growing level of confidence that the monetary policy is working, growing concern that the output is falling quicker than  necessary, and so we moved in August.”  So, hallelujah. It’s a dose of hope, a ray of sunshine, and the right move, but is it enough of a move to make a difference to you? It depends on your individual circumstances as to whether it makes an impact now – or in a years' time   The tax cuts have come into play, and OCR is dropping, but we’re also dealing with rising rates, increases in utility bills and hefty insurances bills. So what impact will this news have on your household?    I am sure that Adrian Orr was excited to finally be announcing a rate cut – but was it communicated well? The news has been overshadowed by frustration and criticism over the way it was delivered.    Reactions among bank economists were mixed, all agreed the direction of travel for rates is down, and sooner rather than later, and New Zealand’s major banks have moved swiftly in lowering mortgage lending rates, but if you’re a consumer  making decisions about your mortgage, or business loan and had looked to the Reserve Bank to give you an indication of how things were going to progress – you quite rightly might be a little taken aback by this earlier than anticipated move.     In February and April, the Reserve Bank reasoned that the OCR would need to remain at a restrictive level for a “sustained period” to ensure inflation returned to the 1-3% target.   In May, that wording changed – it was slightly softer. “Monetary policy needs to remain restrictive to ensure inflation returns to target within a reasonable timeframe.”   And in July, things loosened up more with the central bank stating “monetary policy will need to remain restrictive” but that “the extent of this restraint will be tempered over time consistent with the expected decline in inflation pressures”.   We had been led to believe that we would not see cuts until next year – and I’m not sure this statement has enough detail to make anyone think otherwise.    This was Adrian Orr defending the communication of the OCR cut to the Mike Hosking Breakfast ...  “Nothing we do today is going to affect today's inflation, so we're always looking forward. What are we seeing here? We're seeing more spare capacity of the economy taking out some of that inflation pressure and we're seeing global pricing falling and we're seeing business pricing behaviours change dramatically in New Zealand all for the positive, all consistent with one to 3% inflation.”  The cut is a good move, the RBNZ might have read the economy correctly, but were their intentions clear to you ? Have you been able to read between the lines and make decisions that will allow you to benefit from this cut, and on going cuts over the coming year?    The news yesterday was a step in the right direction – a new direction, but interpreting RBNZ statements has become a bit of an art. Maybe some pictures would have been helpful after all.     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.