Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

New Zealand’s health and safety performance seems to be dire still.  In 2013, an independent taskforce identified three key failures in the country’s health and safety system in the wake of the Pike River tragedy.  Eleven years later, Newsroom reveals that despite knowing these faults, not much has changed. Legislation continues to be poorly implemented with insufficient follow through, the primary regulator is still under resourced, and there is still poor coordination across the agencies tasked with injury prevention, they said.  Mike Cosman, Chair of the New Zealand Institute of Safety Management, told Kerre Woodham that he was part of that taskforce, and sadly only about half the job was done.  He said that whilst other countries we would normally compare ourselves to —Australia, the UK, Europe— have continued to improve, our performance has staggered along.  It’s not getting worse, Cosman said, but it’s certainly not getting better at the speed that you would hope.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gerry Brownlee, the Speaker, wants to boost security for politicians while they're out and about in the community before something goes very wrong. Something has gone pretty wrong in that Green MP James Shaw was assaulted in the street as he walked to work. You'd have to say that was a pretty nasty episode. Gerry Brownlee is considering giving Parliament’s security guards powers to arrest and detain, and to be able to coordinate more with the police diplomatic protection service, which usually looks after the Prime Minister and Prime Minister only.   His comments came at a Select Committee on the budget for parliamentary service and Labour's Rachel Boyack asked about the security of MPs, saying when MPs were out in public they didn't necessarily know where they might face risks, and that security was often reactive rather than proactive. The issue of security for MPs has been percolating for quite some time. Back in April, a report was released by Frontiers in Psychiatry and it revealed that more MPs are reducing their public outings. They fear being home alone, they change their routines regularly, and they lose time from work as a result of abuse and harassment. The research surveyed 54 MPs in 2022 and it had found threats had increased and were of a more disturbing nature when compared to a similar study done in 2014. The intensity of abuse increased hugely during the heights of the Covid-19 pandemic (you can imagine that, given how heightened everything was), and it simply hadn't fallen away after Covid-19, which is a bit alarming.   The author of the report said disturbingly, women were at a significantly higher risk of certain types of social media harassment, including gendered abuse, sexualised comments, threats of sexual violence, and threats towards their family. Who finds that surprising, though? Whenever anybody abuses women, even if you're out and about somewhere where the drink is flowing at a festival or at the pub or anywhere, the way women are abused is completely different to the way men are abused. It's how they look. It's who they may or may not have bonked. It's whether they'd be likely to be up for it. This is nothing new. This has not come about since Covid. Women have always been abused and it's always been around sexual violence and how they look, and their family.   Of the 54 MPs who participated, 98% of them said they'd experienced harassment, ranging from disturbing communication to physical violence. Nearly half of the women were fearful for their safety at home, compared to just 5% of men. And as I say, I can well believe the misogyny. You should have seen the texts that came in when Jacinda Ardern was on the radio. I didn't mind criticising her and for the decisions she made when she was in power, it had nothing to do with the way she looked or because she was a woman or because of the relationship she had. The abuse that her child got was simply unforgivable. Mercifully not on this text machine, because that would make me question humanity, it was more on the deep net, but I mean sick.   I've had death threats. I've had stalkers, I've had abuse. More recently, social media campaigns, and while 99.9% of the time, it really doesn't bother me, occasionally you do get wobbly, not for yourself, but for your family. You don't want them subject to that sort of vileness just because of your job. For me, I don't think they're necessarily genuine threats. People get angry, people get upset, people feel you're misrepresenting them, or you're a figurehead for a cruel, cruel world that doesn't understand them. And I get that people feel really, really angry sometimes at the world, and you as a mouthpiece are a symbol for all that’s wrong with that world. And I kind of understand it. Do I think I need extra security? No, I don't.  I'm willing to go out in public, interact with people, chat to people and absolutely have faith that even if people don't like you, they won't necessarily come up and scream abuse at you or assault you in public. And I think it's the same with the MPs.   But there are plenty of people who do need protection, and those are the people who are working in retail, who get abused on a daily basis. People working in jewellery stores. There are people who are in relationships, they try and end them - they are at very real risk of coming to harm. Genuine risk.   So, do politicians need protection more than any other group in the community?  I wouldn't have thought so. There's been the horrible attack on James Shaw, there's been all sorts of online abuse and what have you, but it's the people in the supermarkets, the people in the retail stores that are targeted by thugs, I would have thought they needed the beefed up security guards, not privileging MPs over the shop workers. And if we're going to be able to give extra powers to security guards to protect our parliamentarians, then why can't we get security guards with beefed up powers to protect our retail workers? Their threat isn't imagined, isn't perceived, isn't just around the corner. There are retail workers going to work today who will be physically attacked somewhere around the country. The threat is real for them. So why can't they get security guards with beefed up powers?   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Boosting Parliament security is a work in progress.   MPs have shared experiences of threats and intimidation, and some say the Parliament protests were a catalyst for greater concerns.  The Speaker's looking into the possibility of giving Parliament security guards arrest powers.   Security Association Chief Executive Gary Morrison told Kerre Woodham that having Police support is key.  He said that security guards act as a visible deterrent and can keep situations safe.  Morrison says there's not support across the board for letting security guards detain people, as that requires appropriate training which comes at a cost.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let's start with the announcement yesterday from Chris Bishop allowing people to build small granny flats without requiring consent. It's followed through, the coalition government, on its promise to cut red tape around the resource consent process. The announcement was made yesterday, and they said it will be easier for people to put a granny flat in their backyard without having to go through the hoohah of a costly consent process.   Housing Minister Chris Bishop said there are already some councils in the country that allow for that but there's a lack of consistency, so some councils do, some don't. Thus, the proposal for a national environmental standard which would apply nationwide, and which could come into force more quickly.    Winston Peters said yesterday that unlocking the space in the backyards of families will open the door to a new way of living. Oldies, you might want to bring them closer to you if they're no longer able to live in their own home, but not ready for a rest home, a granny flat out the back would be perfect. University aged kids who want a little bit of independence but don't want to move away from home. You know the drill.   However, New Zealand Certified Builders CEO Malcolm Fleming, who spoke to Early Edition this morning, sounded a note of caution. He says removing consents does take away safeguards.   “What it also boils down to is whether a homeowner wishes to save the cost of a building consent, which MBIE is indicating their documents sits between $2000 and $5000 range on a $ 350K build, while also removing the ongoing safeguard of having the council share responsibility when build failures may arise in the future, and some homeowners may see as a viable trade off, others may not.”  Yes, Malcolm, sure, I would love to know when any council ever around the country has said, oh my goodness, my bad. We shouldn't have given that consent here. Let us fix it at no cost to you. We'll do it immediately. The safeguards he's talking about, what exactly are they? When you’ve applied for resource consent, do they say no no no, don't do that, you're going to be in a world of trouble. Or do they give you the consent and then when things go pear shaped, they say sorry, we shouldn't have given it to you, we'll repair it. I can't really see how that has safeguarded many builders in the past. I'd love to know if that is if that is the case.   I've never tried to build anything, for very good reason. Anytime I've done renovations on the house we went through our project manager and builders, and it worked a treat, there were no problems whatsoever. So I can see it working for our family later down the track though as the little ones grow into teenagers. I can imagine them colonising my downstairs and Nana being booted out of the two-story apartment I’m in and plonked into a wee granny flat out on the back section. But can you see it working for you?   And I'm really interested because there's been a bit of pushback through texts, through emails from people saying that consent process is necessary. I wouldn't have thought it was for a small dwelling out the back. I thought this was the very thing that people were railing against; the nanny state interfering. But a number of people are saying no, it really does provide a valuable safeguard, so I would very much like to hear from those who know far more than I do about this. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's leader continues to call the Government tax cuts poorly timed.  The Government's pouring $14.7 billion into it and giving landlords a $3 billion boost.  The tax changes kick in late July against advice from officials who recommend waiting until October.   Chris Hipkins says 12 billion dollars has been borrowed to fund the cuts.   He told Kerre Woodham that he agrees tax brackets need adjusting, but you have to carefully choose when it's done.  Hipkins says this is the worst time to do it, with inflation high and Government revenue declining because of the economic downturn.  WATCH ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You do not have to go back very far to find a news story about a New Zealand Prime Minister having his or her trip disrupted by a shonky 757. The Prime Minister's trip to Japan, with an accompanying trade delegation, was disrupted over the weekend after the Air Force 757 broke down, again. And it was this time last year, to within a week, that the plane ferrying Chris Hipkins to China set off on its flight with a backup plane flying in reserve, in case the first one broke down. Remember that? ACT leader David Seymour said, at the time, the extra emissions were the equivalent of driving a Ford Ranger the distance of a trip to the moon three times. I don't know if that's accurate, might have been hyperbole, but knowing David Seymour, he would have crunched the numbers and done the sums. But it was literally this time last year that Chris Hipkins set off to China with a backup plane. Which was needed. Former prime ministers Dame Jacinda Ardern, Sir John Key - they've also become stuck when they were flying around the world after 757’s and the Hercules aircraft broke down. In 2022, Ardern was left stranded in Antarctica overnight after the Herc broke down and she managed to hitchhike home on an Italian plane from McMurdo Sound travelling to Christchurch. A 757 broke down on Ardern’s official visit to the US in June 2023, while she also took a commercial flight home from Melbourne in 2019 after another engineering issue. The then Defence Minister Peeni Henare and a 30 strong delegation were stuck in the Solomons in August 2022. In 2019, former Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters needed that second RNZAF plane to pick him up after breaking down in Vanuatu. And a trade mission to India, headed by Key in 2016, was cut short after a 757 was grounded in Townsville, forcing the Prime Minister and his entourage to stay the night in far North Queensland while they waited for the AA or the aviation equivalent of the AA. “We've broken down. We're stuck on the side of the road. Can you come and get us? Sure. Give us 24. We'll be there.” I mean, seriously. The miracle is that anybody gets into the bloody things. Would you? I mean, bless the RNZAF engineers for getting the dear old girls up off the ground and into the air again. But holy heck, it's all bound together with gaffer tape and rubber bands and #8 wire and the like. When Chris Luxon was opposition leader, he criticised Chris Hipkins' use of a backup plane on environmental grounds - and also said it speaks to concerns about the reliability of those aircraft breaking down as we've seen in past times.  Well he might be singing another song entirely after this. And this was after saying to Mike only last Tuesday: ‘ Oh, no, I've got every confidence, every confidence.’ Wrong. So back in 2023, when we were talking about Hipkins' trip to China and taking two planes just in case, Chris Hipkins office came back to us last year and said using RNZAF aircraft is cheaper than a commercial charter and has other benefits such as security assurance, and the ability to travel point to point to reduce time away from home and additional costs such as hotels which would be required if there were stopovers. Well, I think we can pretty much rule out the cost factor, can't we? Using an RNZAF charter does not appear to be cheaper - and there have been numerous instances where it hasn't been cheaper, where they've needed either two planes to fly or they've needed to get in commercial charters or you've had to say to your Italian mates - 'can I please get a lift back to New Zealand?' I mean, how embarrassing. So I think we can rule out the cost factor. Let's just take a chartered aircraft that can get from point A to point B. I'm just stunned anyone gets on them. The other point they made was that the 757s are around 30 years old and nearing the end of their economic lives and due for replacement between 2028 and 2030. Bring it forward. They've got to be replaced anyway. I get that no Government wants to be the one that signs the cheque for a new aircraft, but if it's an Air Force aircraft that's going to be used for humanitarian work, if it's going to be used to police our economic zone, if it's going to be ferrying trade delegations, do you really have a problem with us moving forward the purchase date of an aircraft that we're going to have to buy anyway? It's not like it's going to be Air Force One kitted out only for the President with whale scrotum skin bar stools and like Aristotle Onassis had on his yacht. We're not talking plush Penthouse for Daddy kind of fit out, are we? We're talking about a utilitarian aircraft that comes under the auspices of the RNZAF, that the Prime Minister can then get into with a trade delegation and safely go from point A to B point B. I don't think that's unreasonable. Yeah, they're due to be replaced between ‘28 and ‘30. It's 2024. Bring it forward a bit, because it is not cost effective flying in a lemon. It's unsafe flying in a lemon. You don't want to be budging on your mates when you're stuck in Antarctica or Australia. These trips are important. God, no wonder Nanaia Mahuta stayed home. Looking at this aircraft - would you really want to park your buns on that and buckle-up? Not really, no. Just bite the bullet. We're just going to have to do it. It's a necessary expense. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A report by the Ministerial Advisory Group reviewing English and maths learning, has recommended annual checkpoint tests for students. It recommends children in Years 4-6 learn handwriting, including cursive handwriting, and study the "conventions of text structure and style". Children would also be encouraged to write by hand as much as possible in their first three years at school. The Write Lesson managing director Belinda Blick-Duggan says more schools have turned their back on teaching handwriting than ever. "Something like handwriting can be so settling and consistent - and actually a really good routine for a lot of those children." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

General consensus our Defence Force plane is embarrassing New Zealand. The Prime Minister and his delegation were stranded in Papua New Guinea - en route to Japan - after two fuses blew while the 757 was refuelling. Chris Luxon took a commercial flight to Japan - and Air New Zealand's diverting a flight to collect his 52-strong delegation, which has taken a slow trip to Brisbane in the 757. ZB political correspondent Barry Soper says flying on the Air Force plane gives an important signal on trade visits. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So it turns out we suck at saving for retirement.    We’re really good at ticking the box and signing up for KiwiSaver, go us! The Retirement Commission said yesterday that 90% of people getting paid a wage or salary have signed up to KiwiSaver, and around 80% of self-employed people have. However, when it comes to self-employed people – I wonder how many are just putting in the minimal amount of $521.33 to get the government’s contribution, and that’s it.  So, we’re pretty good at deciding to jump on board, but we’re not very good at saving what we will need for retirement.  A recent study called ‘Money and You: The Perception Gap’ found that 56% of New Zealanders, an estimated 2.8 million, aged 18 or over aren’t financially prepared for retirement, increasing to 67% among women. The study also discovered that our understanding of financial concepts isn't as good as we think it is, and we don’t know how much we would need to retire. In other words, I think they are gently telling us that just ticking that box and feeling like we’re being proactive isn’t enough to make sure we can live the retirement we want.    Yesterday, the Retirement Commission released a comprehensive analysis on how KiwiSaver is working and have made 15 recommendations to improve this scheme. They too acknowledge we all need to be saving more for our retirement but know it is challenging against the current backdrop of high inflation and cost of living crisis.    There is talk of making the scheme compulsory – but the numbers signed up to the scheme would indicate we’re pretty keen to be involved already.    However, one of the main changes the Retirement Commission would like to see put in place is a higher default contribution rate of at least 4%, with employers required to match that level or higher. The current default rate is 3% but you can choose to contribute 3, 4, 6, 8, or 10%. Apparently 42% of New Zealanders contribute only the minimum of 3%.    The default rate hasn’t changed in 17 years since KiwSaver began, and we’re a long way behind Australia and other developed countries when it comes to being prepared for retirement.    I like it being voluntary – I like that you can make your own decisions depending on what is going on in your life. Are you using extra savings to pay off a mortgage, meet a new higher interest rate, or making investments on your own which you can access when you like? Maybe you just can’t manage any more than 3% at present.    But for as much as a I like the freedom this system gives us, we’re not likely to pay more unless we have to, so legislating to raise the default setting for both employees and employers isn’t a bad idea, as long as it’s done sensibly.    Sam Stubbs, founder of KiwiSaver Scheme Simplicity spoke to Mike Hosking about the Retirement Commissioner wanting to increase contribution rates by individuals and employers.  “Well she wants the contributions to rise 1%, but if you look at Aussie, you know, they’re paying 12%. So the Aussies have got five times our population, but they’ve got 35 times our savings. So we are saving, but we’re not saving nearly enough. But she has to introduce this idea gradually because, you know, everyone’s going through a cost of living crisis right now, right. You know, if she was to say that KiwiSaver contributions were going to go from 3 to 12%, everybody would laugh. But that, that’s possible, it just takes a long time. I think we should do it about half a percent a year and take an awful long time to get there, but we have to go there.”  So keen to hear your thoughts and as Sam Stubbs said, we have to go there, and I think we have to do it in a really common sense way for both employers and employees. Half a percent. Maybe you do that year on year until it rises, 2, 4, or six? Sounds like the way to go.  We’re not saving enough. I’m not so sure we need to make it compulsory. I feel like an increase in a default rate is a good approach, as long as it's done sensibly. I like the idea of a half a percent increase, but as an employee, is that doable for you at the moment with what may be going on in your life, because we’re all dealing with different things aren’t we? Do you kind of admit to yourself that actually, unless somebody raises that right, you’re probably not going to think about it. You’re probably just thinking right, I’ve got my 3% contribution going and I’m doing the right thing. Yeah, tick the box, I’m not going to think about it again. So actually, is it what you need to motivate you to increase.  If you are an employer, is doable? Could you manage half a percent increase a year? I’m sure there are probably some small or medium sized businesses out there who are just wincing at the idea right now as we deal with these difficult economic times. So, keen to hear from you.  We’ve got to save more, we’re way behind everybody else. I don’t necessarily think making it compulsory is going to make a huge difference, but I do think raising that default rate at a sensible common sense amount each year for the next few years might just do the trick. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Tony Astle ate at Advieh, a restaurant in the new InterContinental Hotel in Auckland.   With ‘Advieh’ being Persian for spice, the menu boasts a fusion of Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and the finest local produce.  Tony sampled the Marlborough oysters, the natural and grilled kingfish crudo, the lamb, the grilled oyster mushrooms, and said the hand cut chips are to “die for”.  LISTEN ABOVE   Recipe of the Week: Antoine’s bread pudding with crème Anglaise This is a sublime Bread and Butter Pudding made in individual ramekins and served with Crème Anglaise. Antoine's Designer Bread and Butter Pudding goes to show how skill and imagination can turn an unassuming dish, whose origins lie in thrift and necessity, into a work of culinary art.      Ingredients  BREAD PUDDING  18 slices white bread crusts removed  ½ cup unsalted butter  ⅓ cup Grand Marnier  1 ½ tbsp raisins  1 ½ tbsp mixed citrus peel  1 ½ tbsp apricot conserve  6 whole eggs  4 egg yolks  100 g sugar  2 cups milk  2 cups cream  Brown sugar for dusting        CRÈME ANGLAISE  2 cups milk  1 vanilla pod  6 egg yolks  75 g caster sugar        Instructions  FOR THE PUDDING  Cut the bread to fit the bottom and sides of six individual ramekins and cut six rounds to act as tops. Butter all bread on one side and line the ramekins, butter side out.  Sprinkle the bread lining the ramekins with Grand Marnier. Place a portion of raisins, mixed peel, and apricot conserve in each ramekin.  Beat the eggs, sugar, milk and cream with a whisk until thoroughly combined, then ladle the custard mixture evenly into each ramekin.  Allow the ramekins to rest for five minutes, allowing the bread to soak up the custard.  Preheat the oven to 160° C. Top up each ramekin and place a bread lid on each, butter side up. Dust with brown sugar and place in a roasting dish. Pour hot water into the dish until it is halfway up the outside of the ramekins. Bake until custard is set.     FOR THE CRÈME ANGLAISE  Heat the milk and infuse with the vanilla pod for about ten minutes.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Bring the heated milk to a boil and then allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Pour the warm milk onto the egg yolk mixture. Mix thoroughly.  Place the combined egg yolk and milk mixture into a clean pan. Over a low heat, stir gently with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Make sure you do not let the sauce boil or it will curdle. Leave to cool, then pass through a sieve into a pouring jug.     TO SERVE  Run a knife around the inside of the ramekins, carefully remove the bread puddings and place each pudding on an individual serving dish. Serve with Crème Anglaise and a quenelle of whipped cream. Garnish with a few strawberries or other seasonal fruit. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.