Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

The 2023 election campaign is entering its final days.  With just three days left Labour and National have both descended into negative campaigning as they scrap for every last vote.  NZ Herald’s Deputy Political Editor, Thomas Coughlan, told Kerre Woodham that at the end of the campaign, they’ll tally the time they spent talking about each other versus the time they spent discussing their own policies.  He thinks that relative to previous elections, they’ve been spending so much time obsessed with each other.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Still more election news. It just gets weirder every day really.   The death of a respected and much loved community member in Port Waikato means a quirk of our election process will be triggered. The ACT party's Neil Christensen has died just a week before the election. And that means the electorate vote in Port Waikato will not count on Election Day, however, the party vote will still count.   Now a by-election will be held after the election. That will mean there are 121 MPs in parliament after the by-election, instead of the usual 120. It's an overhang. Why? Well Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis attempted to explain it to Mike on the Mike Hosking Breakfast this morning.     MH: How is it that you get an extra seat, 121 in the Parliament, and then once you hold the by-election, you still have 121? I don't get that part.”  AG: First of all, the reason for the rule is to throw back to our old first-past-the-post days when we only elected people out of electorates. And so if you had a candidate, especially one of the leading candidates, say a National or Labour candidate die, then that could really affect the overall election result. You know, given that people were only elected out of electorates. We just kept the rule.   But under MMP, on election night, 120 seats get distributed by the Electoral Commission. So if someone died, you could just fill that seat with an extra list seat. But because we have this by-election, what's going to happen is we'll fill 120 seats. There'll be an extra list seat added to bring it up to 120. Then at the end of November, we'll have another seat added when the by-election happens, and the new MP comes out of Port Waikato.”    MH: Why don't, when we get the new MP, the list for MP drops out, thus keeping 120?   AG: But that's not what the rules say the rules say.     MH: No, I know that. But why don't we have a proper rule that makes sense?   AG: That would be one way to do it. Or the other way to do it would be to say that unfortunately, things like this happen, people pass away, and so on and so on. And what you can just do is continue the election, elect someone out of Port Waikato because whoever wins that electorate really won't change the overall makeup of Parliament – it will just change whether people get list seats or electorate seats.     MH: But what, if in going to 121 seats if that's the one seat difference in forming a Government?    AG: That is entirely possible. This really could change the overall result of the election for the next three years. It could give the right block the one extra seat they need to govern.     So there we go.   It makes perfect sense as Mike was saying, so you add an extra list seat until the by-election, the electorate MP is elected, you drop off that list person. Doesn't it? I mean change the rules because this is a bit silly, really, isn't it? The extra seat will almost certainly be National’s because Port Waikato is a safe National seat held by MP Andrew Bayly. Andrew Bayly is high enough on the list, he’s 71, to get in as a List MP on election night. Christensen was ranked 35 on ACT’s list, meaning he was unlikely to become an MP without winning the seat of Port Waikato.   The Electoral Commission confirmed that if Bailey subsequently won the by-election, his list spot will go to the next National candidate on the list and that would give National one more seat than it would have won in the election. If that makes any kind of sense to you?    I mean, it's been explained clearly by a law professor. But dumb rules are still dumb rules and sound dumb, even when you say them, even when you are a distinguished law professor and saying them, they still sound dumb.    There's also another spanner in the works, depending on what happens with Te Pati Maori. If Te Pati Maori get more electorate MP's than its party vote qualifies it for, it could result in 122 or a 223 MPs in Parliament. And that would mean 62 seats were needed to get a majority.   In the Herald’s Poll of Poll’s (they look at all the different polls and sort of divvy them up and average them out) Te Pati Maori is on just 2.8% in terms of party vote but would get 4 MPs because of the electorate seats.   So even after Saturday there will still be some shuffling of the cards. There will be some shuffling of the pack before we see what the actual make-up of our Parliament looks like.   It's a fascinating thing. I mean, why can't we change the rules? If you say, yep, we've looked at this and I'm an eminent law professor, and I think it's dumb. And another one says, well, I'm an eminent social scientist looking at voting and how people vote in the country. I understand all about MMP and yep, this is really dumb. Why don't we change it? Seems really silly.   Why is there a reluctance to tidy things up? So even after Saturday, there'll be questions that still need answering.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 This time next week, this time next Monday, we'll have all had our say and the Government who will lead the country for the next three years will have been elected, or will it?   National and Labour have raised the possibility of another election if they fail to get the votes they need to form a government, if their partner parties fail to get sufficient votes to form a government.  Yet more proof, as if anyone needed, that MMP is not the best form of proportional representation.   Still, it's the one we've got and we're stuck with it for now - and I think far from it being a landslide to the right-wing parties, it looks like it's going to be a tight race.   I don't know if our bet was a bottle of pinot noir or a case, Muz? Muz is a texter from Hawkes Bay who predicted National would absolutely romp home. But I think if it's as close as some polls are predicting, then the bets off with honours even.  I'm very happy, to send you either the bottle or the case depending on what we decided if National is a shoe in, but I just don't think it's going to be as emphatic as the last election was.   I was in the Albany Mall on Sunday and there were queues of people waiting to cast their vote. I don't think voter apathy is a problem this election.   The leaders of the respective parties may not have the razzle dazzle stardust factor, but I think that's a jolly good thing. I don't even think it's an election of which direction we want the country to go.   More an election of how we feel the past six years have been. There's no doubt some people will have had a great six years. Others have not, and they look at Labour's record and wonder how on Earth they can even muster 27% of the public vote as the polls have it.   Some tribal voters have gone Green, they cannot bear to go to the other side. Some have gone pink/yellow, because they cannot bear to go to the other side, but they're finding their traditional party of choice has been found wanting.   But at least people are voting and that's a win for democracy. I don't like talk of a second election.   I mean, it's not the end of the world if we have a second election. But basically, it's telling voters we don't accept your vote.   Not good enough voter, back to the ballot box you go and try again. And there are some parties, or at least one,  some parties and political leaders I would never, ever in a million years vote for, but other people are perfectly entitled to.   That's democracy and if that's the party they want to represent them, then they will tick that box.   Anyway, hopefully it's a clear-cut result whichever way it goes. This time next week, we'll know what the country has decided. We also know whether the All Blacks are in or out of the Rugby World Cup as well on a sidebar.   But it's the election I'm looking forward to because I just do not take for granted the right to be able to peacefully vote in a new Government, keep in an existing Government.  Vote out an existing Government. To be able to do that peacefully, to be able to have the right to cast your vote is not something we should ever take lightly. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What an absolute mess our waters are in.   Drinking water regulator Taumata Arowai has put 27 councils on notice to have a plan and funds locked in to fix their drinking water supplies by June of next year. I was actually surprised that so many councils still have issues with their drinking water. Still haven't put in barriers to protect against the cryptosporidium and guardia that can be spread through drinking water supplies, especially given the Campylobacter outbreak in Hastings in August 2016.   More than 5000 people were violently ill and the outbreak has been linked to three deaths. So I would have thought that any Council that didn't have treatment in place would have made it a priority to get those barriers put in to prevent their people getting contaminated, getting sick from contaminated drinking water.   But no, here we are in 2023, with a cryptosporidium outbreak in Queenstown.   Since 2016, we've also had issues with drinking water in east Otago, although that was lead contamination not Protozoa which is the all-encompassing name for the bugs. We've had issues with wastewater run off again in Queenstown. The Council sought permission in 2018 for untreated wastewater, sewage basically, to continue being pumped into the lakes and rivers in Queenstown for the next 35 years. Those beautiful pristine lakes getting pumped full of literal crap.   We've got issues in Wellington with wastewater going into the harbour. We've got people in Inner city Auckland being issued drinking water and dealing with sewage bubble ups as engineers try to fix a huge sinkhole in Parnell. There are other examples.   There is an absolute urgent need to overhaul and upgrade our three water systems, hence what the Labour Government was trying to do with its Three Waters. But they made an absolute hash of it. So Taumata Arowai has put the councils yet to do the necessary work on notice.  Queenstown Mayor Glyn Lewers was on Early Edition this morning. He believes water regulator Taumata Arowai is undermining the very industry they're trying to regulate, and the costs will be passed on to ratepayers.  The bit that concerns me is I think the regulators are probably undermining the industry they're trying to regulate, that's the fear I've got. So what's going to happen is they're all competing against each other now against the scarce resource, and that's the industry resource and also the supply resource. So you can just imagine the consultancy rates and the supply rates are only going go one way and it's up. It just gets passed straight on the ratepayers, so ratepayers can expect a fair increase in rates, I'd suggest.  Yeah again, I don't quite follow the reasoning. So Queenstown knows they haven't had a barrier to protect the drinking water for years. They know they've got problems with their wastewater pumping out into the lakes. The other 26 councils presumably know that they have no treatment in place to protect their drinking water. The Campylobacter outbreak in Hastings was in August 2016, so here we are seven years later and now all of a sudden saying, oh man, we're going to have to really scramble for resource.   Well, if you'd pulled your finger out and got the job done and prioritised it, you wouldn't all be competing at the same time, would you? So it's no good pointing the didgeridoo at Taumata Arowai and saying, oh, now you're forced us into this position and now we're going to have to compete for a scarce resource. There wouldn't be a scarce resource if you had used the seven intervening years between when there'd been a Campylobacter outbreak that made so many people so very, very ill to do something.   Seven years later what have you been doing? You leave it till you run the risk of prosecution. You find yourself competing with the same consultants, the same equipment.  The price goes up. That's on you. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's water regulator is cracking down on councils to ensure the country's drinking water supplies are up to standard.  Water regulator Taumata Arowai has found that 27 councils, affecting more than 310,000 people, are lacking sufficient protozoa barriers.  National has pledged to scrap Three Waters and deliver local water well, but what does that mean?  National's Local Government Spokesperson Simon Watts joined Kerre Woodham to break down the Party’s plans, and how they’ll impact kiwis.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The curriculum is shaping up to be a battlefield of education policies in this election with concerns about declining literacy and numeracy rates across New Zealand.   New Zealand is not the only country that's having a look at maths and the way it's taught, in an article in the Atlantic Dr Brian Conrad, Stanford mathematics professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, critiqued the teaching of maths in the state of California.  He wrote that California is promoting an approach to maths instruction that's likely to reduce opportunities for disadvantaged students, the opposite of what they’re trying to achieve.  He joined Kerre Woodham to discuss the situation.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Not even Covid can keep Chris Hipkins down. He joined Kerre Woodham over Zoom to take calls and answer questions. WATCH ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We thought we'd have a look at the different health policies from the various parties and get your thoughts on what would benefit you, your community, those you love the most.   National announced yesterday that after birth hospital stays for mothers would be extended to three days, an extra 24 hours. That children and young people under 18 with type one diabetes would be provided free continuous glucose monitors, and that they would increase the number of training places for psychologists and psychiatric registrars.   ACT announced yesterday a medicine strategy that would require Medsafe to approve, within one week, any drug or medical device that has been approved by two foreign regulatory bodies that have the same, or more robust systems, compared with New Zealand.   National’s already announced it will allocate $280 million in ring fenced funding to Pharmac over 4 years to pay for 13 cancer treatments; for lung, bowel, kidney, melanoma, head and neck cancer that are funded in Australia but not New Zealand.   Labour has already promised a billion dollars for Pharmac to do with as it wishes and free dental care for under 30s.   And what's the Greens health policy? Well, thank you for asking.   Top priority for them is to reconfigure our health system towards recognising and acting on oppressive and intersecting biases. For example, racism, sexism, ableism, fat phobia, ageism, queerphobia, and transphobia, and the knowledge and skills required to work with affected communities such as deaf and disabled people, its top priority for them.    So which of the parties policies resonates most for you? I have to say the number of Give a Little pages I’ve contributed to recently for some gorgeous young Kiwis, young parents, some in their late 30s, early 40s, terribly ill with bowel cancer and who are having to raise money for non-funded treatments to give them a fighting chance of seeing their kids get one year older.   I've also heard how life changing the continuous glucose monitors are for families. If you don't know anything about type 1 diabetes, a) lucky you and b) you probably have no idea. I didn't. Just how traumatic and life changing it is for families.   I thought it was something you just got medicine for, and you lived life pretty much as normal. But for parents of young children who have type 1 diabetes, they have to get up throughout the night to ensure that their children's blood sugar level doesn't fall to a dangerous level. I had no idea how impactful it was on families and how dangerous and life-threatening type 1 diabetes can be, especially in younger children who can't manage it themselves. They're very expensive too for a lot of families, they have to fund raise or rely on the kindness of strangers to get a continuous glucose monitors, so I imagine that will be life changing for some people.   Three days in hospital after having a baby. I'm not so sure they'll be able to deliver on that National, and whether many people will want to. I've said before, it used to be a fantasy of mine that I'd have a minor accident that would require about a week in hospital with crisp white hospital sheets and lovely, caring, attentive nurses mopping my fevered brow, and a vase full of daffodils and open windows and fresh air and beautiful food arriving.   Well, you know, that is just that, a fantasy now. That's not what happens in hospitals now. I don't know how many hospitals would have beds for mums and babies to be able to stay for three days.  For those of you under 40, back in the day when I had my daughter, in antediluvian times, I got a week. A room of my own, a week.   There was absolutely nothing wrong with either of us, it was a perfectly straightforward birth and you got a week to loll about and receive guests and learn how to cope with this new baby. It was brilliant, but there was time, and there were beds, and there was staff, and I just don't think that's the case these days.   They've been bribing women to leave hospital early for years because of bed and staff shortages. Remember, 15 odd years ago, they were offering women a month's supply of disposable nappies if they’d buggar off and take their baby with them. Some women turned around within a matter of hours.   So I'm not sure they'd be able to deliver on three days, and I'm not entirely sure families would want to be there for three days. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I think it's a little bit rich when you've got Chris Hipkins cancelling a debate because of Covid and people send him "best wishes" and "get well soon"s, instead of accepting the good wishes graciously and using the time to recover at home, out go attack ads saying Chris Luxon is a chicken for refusing to reschedule the debate.   They offered to put up Kelvin Davis against Christopher Luxon, but that's hardly like for like is it? National said no, if it's going to be a battle of the deputies, sure, we'll put up Nicola Willis. Labour said no, that's not good enough, we need to reschedule.   These are the last few days of the election campaign. If Labour's diary is yawning and open and has plenty of spaces that says more about them, I think than it does about National. It's really, really hard to find time to reschedule. You know, we're doing that with Christopher Luxon's team. They want to come back on. They suggested Thursday, but he's already been on for two hours with Mike, we think that might be a little bit of overkill. So they're trying to find a space in their diary with the best will in the world. To call him a chicken for refusing to debate Kelvin Davis!   It's incredible to me to think that Chris Hipkins’ team did think he did such an amazing job in the last debate, like he was so brilliant, absolutely on fire, that Christopher Luxon is running scared. I don't know what debate they watched, but that's not what I saw. I saw Chris Hipkins looking better and improved, but certainly not enough to strike fear into his opponent. It just looks a bit like dirty pool. You pulled out, your problem. Don't make it Christopher Luxon’s and his teams.  Onto the announcement yesterday from Labour saying that they were going to look at bank rolling companies who want to enter the New Zealand grocery market, in a bid to break up the supermarket duopoly. They've been gunning for the supermarkets for some time –remember the Commission of Inquiry into supermarkets? Labour's commerce and Consumer affairs spokesman Duncan Webb said if re-elected, Labour's support for new companies could include finance, making sure land was available, regulatory changes, incubating innovation and accelerating competition.    Webb said the behaviour by Sanitarium, who of course refused to supply The Warehouse with Weet-Bix, citing ‘supply issues’, highlighted why the existing players couldn't be trusted to sort out the market. The inquiry into competition in the grocery business showed the two big companies that control the grocery industry are making excess profits of around $1 million a day.   I don't know what excess profits are. What's the excess? How much are you allowed to make before it becomes excess? So I've never really understood what they mean by excess profits, but nonetheless, following the inquiry, Labour established a grocery code of conduct, appointed a Commissioner, banned restrictive land agreements that locked new entrants out of locations for new supermarkets (which I think that was a good move), made unit pricing mandatory and required major grocery retailers to open wholesale offerings. But that's apparently not enough, hence the government saying, hey, if we get in anybody who wants to start up a grocery store contact us.   Why? Why would you do that? Well, the founder of online grocery retailer Supie, Sarah Balle, spoke to the Mike Hosking Breakfast, and she supports the idea of Government funding.  “Government funding has delivered us a national airline, being Air New Zealand, it has delivered us rural broadband to areas across New Zealand so that we don't have Internet poverty. We have Government funded electricity companies, so there's absolutely a case to be made to ensure that we don't have food poverty in New Zealand. The Government is investing in a supermarket that generates returns that we can pull back into supporting food producers and really improving the health of our population.”  Umm, but are they? I mean, basically all they say it would be is a loan. It's not like they're going to take any of the profits that may or may not be made by the retailer and put them back into the food supplies. All they’ve said is they'll supply a loan.   ACT says it's a form of woolly corporate welfarism. National says taxpayer money should not be used to prop up or support a new entrant into the market. There's no guarantee it'll be a success. And I do wonder at the wisdom of bankrolling wannabe grocers when the big multinational companies around the world have had a look at New Zealand and said Yeah, Nah.   Grant Robertson sees the multinationals have had a look. He cited German discount supermarket ALDI as one of the players in the Australian market that people can take a look at. A spokesman for ALDI confirmed it has no current plans to expand into New Zealand. It'd be great if it did. They set up shop in Australia in 2001 and helped drive down prices. Although it took more than a decade for it to become the country's third biggest player. It costs a lot to establish a nationwide supermarket. It costs a lot to hang in there for 10 years to become profitable.   So is that what we want to do with taxpayer money? Have a punt on another supermarket? Supie is looking to expand. It's an online grocery startup, but it says it's signed up about 55,000 customers, has about 130 staff and is now planning physical stores and has already mapped out of first location. They want to be a disruptor, much like 2degrees. Supie wants a slice of the estimated $22 billion supermarket industry, which is controlled by store-owner co-operative Foodstuffs and Australian retail giant Woolworths through its Countdown chain.    Should the government be bankrolling people who want to have the Super yachts, who want to have the lovely luxury lifestyle that they see, you know, the supermarket owners in their district having? They look at the trappings of success and think, I want a bit of that. They don't realise that these people have been working 18/19/20-hour days on the shop floor for years and years and years before the pay off.   And how would it work? Do the profits go back to the Government to go back to the food producer, as Sarah was saying? I don't think so.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National outplays Labour according to this year's rankings from business leaders.  More than 100 CEOs and business leaders have ranked MPs in the Herald's Mood of the Boardroom survey.  Luxon comes out on top with 3.24 out of five, compared to Chris Hipkins' 2.95.  Jarden Managing Director and Co-Head of Investment Banking Silvana Schenone told Kerre Woodham that businesses are very concerned with the future because they will really need to plan for it.  She said that people would make totally different decisions based on who was in power.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.