Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

A month ago to this very day, Heart of the City, the business association for Auckland City Centre, released a scathing report that found store owners and offices believed homelessness, too few police, neglect and disorder, and frightening anti-social behaviour were crippling their businesses.   Amongst the most dire findings was 91% of those surveyed saying rough sleepers and begging were affecting their business. 81% believed the city centre was not in a good state to attract significantly more people and investment. The findings came from 102 business owners in and around the Queen Street valley area in late September who were asked about the state of the city centre and what factors were hindering their financial success.   This isn't news. There have been problems with rough sleepers for years now. But the business owners I've talked to in Queen Street say although there was always the odd person around before Covid, it was when Labour turned the inner-city hotels and motels into emergency housing during Covid that things became absolutely dire. Because when everything was freed up, the people stayed. They'd made a home there, they'd found a home there, they weren't going to be moved on, they'd found their people.   In Ponsonby, when I was living there, there were about three or four characters, men and women, who were either sleeping rough or living in halfway houses. But they were part of the community. You knew them by name, you greeted them. They were they were different. They were odd, but that was okay. We're all different and odd at different times and perhaps not quite as odd as these ones, but they were there first, and they were part of the community.   And I think we all do have empathy for those who are doing it tough or are going through a tough period in their life or who are just wired a little bit differently. But when you are swamped with people in need, when you are one district, one area that is overrun with people who are odd, who are wired differently, who don't behave as you would imagine civilised humans would behave, who quite literally crap on your empathy, inevitably you will start to take a tougher stance. And I think that's what's happened to the store owners and retailers in Queen Street.   It's back in the news again. As I said, homelessness is seldom far from it because Labour has suggested that the Government is looking at introducing a ban on rough sleepers in the city. Well, as Chief Executive of Heart of the City Viv Beck told Mike Hosking this morning, bring it on, something needs to change.   VB: What I'm seeing is we need a game changer. We can't just keep moving people around. As long as there were really good solutions for vulnerable people, I think a majority of the people that we represent would support a scenario where you don't lie on streets or you house people.   MH: I don't know if you were watching Parliament yesterday, but they seem squeamish about it. Why don't we just be a bit blunt about it? And the cold hard truth of homelessness is that it ruins central cities, and we need to clean it up and clear it out. I mean, it's that simple, isn't it?   VB: I believe so. And what's been really pleasing in the last four weeks is that there has been constructive debate and people are recognising these are real issues. We need to be bold about this. We do have to care for people. We've got a track record of caring for people. The reality is though, we cannot leave it the way it is. It does need a game change and I really hope the politics don't sabotage a really important issue that needs resolving.   Oh, I think it probably will. Politics generally does, especially when there's an election looming. I was listening to Ginny Anderson and Mark Mitchell this morning, on the Mike Hosking Breakfast. Ginny said, "Well, where are they going to go? People don't want the homeless outside schools or their homes." Well, no, they don't, but they also don't want them outside their bloody businesses either. Hairdressers and cafe owners and accountants and clothing retailers and the like in Queen Street have had enough of looking after them.   And I don't think many of the retailers would have a problem with rough sleepers if that's all they were doing. Looking for a warm, safe, dry place to sleep, then packing up and moving on. It's the detritus and the bodily fluids and the aggressive, pugnacious attitudes that most retailers have the problem with. Sleep in the doorway, but it's the associated issues that come with it that are the real issue, the real problem.   We have got people out of motels. There are no children on the streets, and that's got to be a good thing. There are places, as Mark Mitchell referred to, for people to go. It's the associated issues, the problems that they have that mean they don't feel either safe staying there, they don't want to stay there, they don't feel comfortable being within four walls, they're quite claustrophobic, especially those that have done time.   It is a huge issue, way beyond just putting a roof over heads. If only that billion dollars into mental health had actually done some work. So, I don't blame the retailers for saying, okay, make a law, move them on. At least if they are in communities, 24/7 communities, not retail areas, they might become part of the community. They're dispersed throughout the community. You can adopt a homeless person, a bit like it was in Ponsonby back in the day.   I don't know what the answer is. I really don't. With so much money going into mental health, it doesn't seem to be affecting the very people that you would hope would be benefiting from that massive contribution of taxpayer money. Those who are living on the edge, those who are wired differently, those who do need extra help, and those who are making it almost impossible to run a business in the central city.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's rise in unemployment isn't unexpected.  Latest Stats NZ data shows the unemployment rate has reached an almost nine-year high of 5.3% in the September quarter.  160 thousand people have been looking for a job, while another 138 thousand have been wanting more work.  The Herald's Liam Dann told Kerre Woodham today's figures are exactly as forecast by economists.  He says the labour market will remain tough for a while yet because companies are nervous to hire, and some are still having to let staff go.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can you believe the bean counters at ACC are taking the knife to its funding for Water Safety NZ?   Their reasoning is that they’ve poured all this money into Water Safety NZ but they’re not seeing a return on that investment. Which would be a reduction in drowning-related claims.   But I’m with Water Safety NZ, which is saying today that good progress has been made, and this funding cut will put everything at risk and make a hard job even harder with $1 million less to do its work.   Gavin Walker is its head of partnerships and funding, and he says there have been 54 drownings so far this year – five fewer than the 10-year average.   Which, apparently, is not good enough for ACC.    But it can quibble as much as it likes about the numbers and the return on investment and all of that, but the fact is water is a huge risk to people’s lives. To every one of us.   This claim by ACC that it’s cutting the water safety funding because it’s not getting the return on its investment doesn’t stack up when you consider some of the other things it puts money into.   ACC also part-funded the doomed “Road to Zero” road safety campaign which, I think we can agree, was hardly a glowing success. I don’t recall ACC pulling the plug on that one.   But its deputy chief executive of engagement and prevention, Renee Graham, is defending the decision, saying they’ve been putting $1 million a year into Water Safety NZ but drowning-related claims are costing it $3 million a year.   My response to that: so what?   The thing about water is that it’s accessible to anyone and everyone – you don’t need a swimming licence. Which means people can be clueless when it comes to throwing themselves into the water and not always thinking whether they might be overestimating their abilities.  I’m probably at the other end of the spectrum because water terrifies me. Even though I’ve sailed for years —and even though our kids have grown up around water— the potential for things to go drastically wrong in water terrifies me.   I suppose “respectful” might be a better word to use than “terrified”, but even though I love getting out on the water, I know it will never be my friend.  That was something I always said to the kids when they were young. Water can be fun, but it’s not your friend.   Which is why I was determined, from the get-go, that they were going to have swimming lessons – but that costs money.    We were very fortunate that we could afford it. But, if we’d been in a different financial position, then perhaps the swimming lessons would’ve been one of the first things to go.   Which is what Gavin Walker from Water Safety NZ is saying today.   He’s saying: “There’s a whole lot of kids who are actually missing out on good quality water survival support”.   Which is going to get worse with ACC pulling its funding.  And that’s why ACC needs to have a hmmm moment of its own.  “Hmmm…if we pull this funding, who gets harmed?”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Buckingham Palace has announced that King Charles will remove all of his brother, Prince Andrew's, titles. The statement from Buckingham Palace related the announcement to the allegations of sexual abuse by the late Virginia Giuffre. Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's title will not be immediately stripped as UK Correspondent Gavin Grey said the process of removing his titles "will take some time".  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Five years ago, Port of Auckland was struggling with a shocking health and safety record. Three people had died and many more had been injured at work. Financially, the company was dealing with a costly but flawed automation project, and COVID added plenty of headaches for the global shipping industry too. The company needed a complete turnaround, and Roger Gray was picked as the new chief executive to get on with the job. With a background of 20 years in the Australian Army and roles at Goodman Fielder and Air New Zealand, Roger came with experience in leadership, but this was a big job with big problems. Roger Gray joined Kerre Woodham in studio for the latest episode of Bosses Unfiltered. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's drug laws are in the spotlight again and with good reason. Despite record police busts, we're still seeing record methamphetamine use, we're seeing increasingly dangerous street drugs, and rising overdose deaths, three a week from drug overdoses. There have been calls to overhaul the 50-year-old Misuse of Drugs Act and the call comes from a number of different organisations. The Drug Foundation wants drug use decriminalised and the law rewritten to make it a health issue, not a criminal issue, and they have been very consistent in their approach on this. Also this week we had a survey from the Helen Clark Foundation conducted by the University a University of Otago researcher, Rose Crossin. And that found that half of New Zealanders support shifting investment from policing to health. Rose Crossin told the Elephant News show right now two-thirds of what we spend on drugs goes to law enforcement. And the people surveyed would prefer that money to go on to prevention, treatment and harm reduction. The report shows that just 1.4% of the annual drug budget is for harm reduction. 1.4%. That does rise to 30% when you look at treatment and prevention, but it's still when you see the vast majority going towards policing, surely it should be flipped on its head. Green's co-leader Chloe Swarbrick also raised the issue, again, launching an online platform yesterday, which asked for public suggestions on better drug regulation, in particular cannabis, as a step towards legalisation. Now, with the use of medicinal cannabis, we haven't seen a huge upswing in the numbers of people taking cannabis. I venture there are some of you who have used medicinal cannabis, found it works for you. You've never used cannabis before, but when the opportunity came available for you to use it, you did so, and found it didn't turn you into a raging drug addict lifting your skirt on the streets to pay for your habit. And in fact, helped you with pain, helped you with sleeplessness, whatever it is that medicinal cannabis is supposed to do. So certainly, there needs to be more opportunity for people to rehab, for those who've tried drugs, found it doesn't work for them and need to get off it. There are clinics around the country, but hey, good luck getting into the taxpayer funded ones. Pretty much it seems you have to be court ordered before you can get into those rehab clinics. If you go private, prices start from around $17,000 for a couple of weeks to a month. Most 30-day residential rehabs charge more than $20,000. And you can have ones with all the bells and whistles and the nice sheets and the nice meals and the yoga instructor.  But who the hell can pay for that? The trust fund babies, sure. Wealthy business people, sure.   But where do you go if you're an average, ordinary, everyday Kiwi who tried drugs, be it meth or coke or booze, and thought you could handle it, and found that the monkey on your back was the one in charge, you need to get off. You have to. - you're going to lose your family, you're going to lose your soul. How do you step out of your life for a month? How do you find the 30-odd thousand for the month?  How do you re-enter your life and stay clean? Policing plays an important role in thwarting people who make money from peddling misery. Having drugs criminalised stops some people from using them. I know that when I was growing up in the media,and I really was, 17,18, 19 years old, a big reason I didn't use drugs that were around, the cocaine and the cannabis, was that I would lose my job. If I was found in possession of any of these drugs, I would lose my job. I would have a criminal offence against my name, so the legalised drug, booze, became my drug of choice. So I understand how having drug use criminalised can be useful in stopping people starting. Bbt surely reducing demand is a really vital part of the process as well. People choosing not to use alcohol and other drugs will have a much bigger impact than the occasional high-profile bust. And surely then making drugs just another product with all the health and safety regulations around the production of these drugs, having taxes applied at source, turning it into just another commodity would be the most effective of all at emasculating the gangs and the cartels?  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Power is still out to many rural South Island properties. Just under six thousand are still cut off in Clutha and Southland, where States of Emergency continue. More than three-thousand weather-related insurance claims have been lodged so far. Federated Farmers Southland President Jason Herrick told Kerre Woodham that, 'people were helping one another and I'll tell you what, I'm hearing some stories out there of some real unsung heroes.' LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I thought I'd start with the idea, the initiative, if you will, coming out of the think tank, the New Zealand Initiative. I love generally the work that they produce because even though you might not agree with the ideas that they put forward, there's generally a good discussion to be had. You hear the pros, you hear the cons, you think, mmm, okay. This one though, I'm not so sure. More MPs. Increasing the number of MPs in our parliament from 120 to 170. Oh, I don't think so. Our parliament may be small compared with other countries with similar populations, but until the New Zealand voting public has a seismic shift in the understanding of civics and civil society, and refocuses itself, if we all have to refocus on responsibilities over rights, then the fewer politicians, the better. Senior fellow at the Initiative, Nick Clark, says though that we need more politicians because the ones we have are stretched too thinly, they're doing too much work, and that means there's a very real risk of poor legislation being drafted.We have difficulty with select committees in terms of the ability for them to properly scrutinise legislation, and that's partly because the MPs that we do have available are so thinly stretched. We have MPs that end up on multiple committees. They can't give a good handle on what's going on, as much as they perhaps should. They get inundated with submissions. It's a good idea, I think, to just spread the load a bit more by having some more MPs. Also, the electorates that we have are very large, both geographically and in population terms, and they're becoming increasingly difficult for MPs to service the rather complex and intense needs of the constituents. So these extra MPs will be electorate MPs, not list ones. Some will be, yep, yep, ... we'd be looking at the 50/50 split. That was Senior Fellow at the New Zealand Initiative Nick Clark talking to Ryan Bridge this morning. So a few more electorate MPs, but also more list MPs. No, thank you. No, thank you very much at all. Maybe if every MP who was being paid by you and me, by the public purse, was pulling their weight, you could argue a case that they're overworked.  But while a large number take the job very seriously, there have been many instances of MPs across the house calling out others for laziness, for not understanding the job and not doing it. I think when we have MPs who are accountable to an electorate, there is a far greater sense of ownership. So if you had more electorates, perhaps I could consider the case for it, but certainly, no. No more list MPs. And in another New Zealand Initiative report, Dr James Kierstead says there's a disconnect between politicians and the people they represent, just as there is in many other democracies around the world. And his report, he says in recent years, governments have enacted a number of policies that were clearly opposed by most Kiwis. Three Waters legislation was forced through despite multiple polls consistently showing that a majority of New Zealanders opposed it. Only a year after Three Strikes legislation was repealed, a poll suggested nearly two-thirds of New Zealanders wanted it to stay on the books, and only 16% of them wanted it repealed. Nonetheless, when Labour came in, they did that anyway. And despite polls showing clear majorities of Kiwis supported the actual wording of the Treaty Principles Bill, it failed to progress beyond its second reading. Dr Kierstead says we need more direct input from citizens as the solution. Again, I'd say no, not until we have a better educated voting population.  If you're listening to the show, I'm assuming you know a little bit about politics, you know a little bit about how parliament works. Some will have a greater understanding than others, but you have an interest in politics. You understand how legislation is enacted. You understand why we have a parliament. You understand the roles of MPs. But there are so many who don't. They won't look at policies. They'll either vote tribally or they'll vote because somebody looks better than somebody else does. They won't be looking at what policy is going to mean further down the track. They'll just look at how it directly impacts on them, and that's okay if that's their interest. I just don't think that we are intelligent enough to be either represented well, because let's face it, MPs are drawn from us, and we are an imperfect pool of people. And I don't think we know how to keep them accountable.  I don't think we know what to expect of them. I don't think we pull them up when they're making grievous errors of judgment when drawing up their list MPs, looking at you, Greens. Somebody said yesterday that the biggest threats to our society are apathy and ignorance, and I would agree. Increasing the pool of MPs by another 50? We're going to have to do a lot better than that before I'd even remotely concede to discussing that one. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the Government unveiled it's maths action plan in August last year, we spoke to Distinguished Maths Professor Gaven Martin. Widely regarded as New Zealand's leading mathematician, Gaven gave the new plan better odds of working than curriculum under the previous Government. Now, more than 40 maths educators and researchers have written an open letter calling on the Ministry of Education and Erica Stanford to pause the latest curriculum rollout immediately. They are questioning why the maths curriculum has been re-written for the third time in three years, saying they were “deeply concerned” by both the changes themselves and the process used for its development. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Early this morning, the Labour Party made a surprise Capital Gains Tax announcement. The targeted tax would raise funds for the health system, including three free doctors' visits per year. The tax wouldn't apply to the family home, farms, KiwiSaver, shares, business assets, inheritances, and personal items. Dentons Tax Partner Bruce Bernacchi told Kerre Woodham that, "people will call it a capital gains tax when it's actually not, because it's extremely targeted just on property." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.