Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

Papa Honez first called into the show at the start of May.  He and his English Rose, Rachel, had started an organisation called One Whanau at a Time that was collecting food and household goods to give away to those in need in the Far North.They had started a Give-a-little to buy goods for struggling families and were overwhelmed by the generosity of our listeners who donated after hearing his story.Papa Honez joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Friday I shared the story of Brittany Kremers, a 25-year-old woman who was denied desperately needed facial surgery at the eleventh hour by the Christchurch DHB.The reason? No funding available.For the past 14 months, Brittany has tightened the screws on her face to realign her jaw in preparation for having a prosthetic jaw fitted.  She had her jaw and skull base removed, along with a life-threatening tumour, in 2006.To then be told there was no funding for her surgery - it was a kick in the guts.A family friend set up a Give-a-little page which has currently raised over $145,000.Dawn Kremers, Brittany’s mum, joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is no surprise really, is it, that industries, professions and trades are struggling to fill vacancies in almost every role, every capacity. It was tough this time last year and it's only got worse as our borders stay shut and the MIQ requirements remain. New Zealand is simply can't be trained up fast enough to fill the vacancies that exist. And again, there simply aren't enough of them that are work fit. Those who want jobs should have them by now. Despite the fact that Damien O'Connor has announced border class exemptions for agricultural workers and David Clark has announced 600 border exemptions for tech workers, that is all well and good. That is just saying that your application will be looked at that you are in a class of occupation that New Zealand desperately needs. It's not your magic Willy Wonka pass on to New Zealand. You still have to go through the three-ring circus that is MIQ which makes the announcement utterly futile. Why do we still have MIQ while Covid is right through New Zealand? It is because the government has swallowed the Kool-Aid? As Mike Yardley said, why on Earth would you not let double-vaxxed people who have had negative tests all the way in? Self-isolate the seven days and let them get on with their work. Has everybody swallowed the Kool-Aid or just the government ministers and their fawning advisors?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listener Trevor called into the show at the end of September. He was hurt and frustrated that he hadn't been able to see his wife in her rest home for six weeks.  Despite being double vaccinated -  the staff and his wife were also double vaccinated -  he still wasn't allowed in and his wife was blind and really needed the personal contact as she was unable to watch television or read.They were also about to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.Trevor joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

National Party leader Christopher Luxon has been talking about a social investment policy.It's an area that he has pinpointed as a priority and he's put his deputy Nicola Willis in charge.It's an idea that Sir Bill English championed when he was in office.In a nutshell, it was to invest in children and families who were clearly going to become problems later on and break the cycle.Invest early and save the taxpayer money in the end.Chief Executive of Frank Advice and co-founder and Director at Impact Lab Emily Mason joined Kerre McIvor.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Well, piece of news yesterday, people under 14 won't be able to buy cigarettes. And I thought when I saw the headline well what's new, they can't now anyway.  People 14 and under will never, ever, ever be able to buy cigarettes in their lifetime. The ban will increase as they age. Very, very interesting. Successive governments have tried to target smoking. I think the Clark government was the most vehement in trying to get the number of smokers down, but Governments understand that smoking is not good for its population.  Here are the stats:  464,000 New Zealand adults still smoke daily.  25 to 34 year olds have the highest smoking rate.  Māori women have the highest smoking rate. 32% of the population of Māori woman smoke. Māori men it’s 25%.  Smokers are more likely to have poor mental health than nonsmokers.  Smokers are more likely to binge drink.  The average age of starting smoking is 14.8 years old.   And adults living in the most socio economically deprived areas are four and a half times as likely to be current smokers as adults in the least deprived areas.  So, the richer you are, the less likely you are to smoke.  The better off you are, the better educated you are, the less likely you are to smoke.  The good news is that 1,041,000 people have given up smoking. 65% of New Zealanders have never smoked regularly, and that is a big turnaround from even 20 years ago.  And now the government wants to bring it down even further, and do so in quite a radical fashion.  It intends to create the first smoke free generation with a lifetime tobacco ban; noble ambitions.  And undoubtedly with the wellbeing of Kiwis at heart. But I am a wee bit conflicted on this.  I mean, I was never a huge smoker. I smoked probably for 10 years.  Starting with the Sobranies, the cocktail cigarettes, because I thought that made me look sophisticated. And then the Dunhills. And then phased out to 5 rollies a day that my old producer Jimmy used to roll for me and I'd have one an hour when I was on talk back at nights, and then one day I went to take a puff and just felt so sick like the first time you've ever smoked a cigarette in your life when you're 12. Felt so ill and even the thought of it now still makes me ill. It was like aversion therapy; except I hadn't heard of aversion therapy.  So, I guarantee there would be very few smokers who would want their children or grandchildren to take up the habit. Even if you're a 2 pack a dayer do you really want your children doing the same? It's expensive, hideously expensive, and it is damaging to your health.  On the other hand, once something’s forbidden, it's all the more exciting and I hate the idea that the gangs will be able to mine another lucrative vein of income. Cigs are ideal to illegally import, smuggle and move around the country. And we're also pretty handy at growing tobacco here in this country too. So, it gives the gang something else to sell.  There's also the argument that people are entitled to go to hell by their own route. What do we do next? You know when you have free will, you can exercise it for good or bad. If the government removes smoking, there's still plenty of other health issues they could look at.  Will we only allow people an allocation? It'll come to your door of the health department's recommended alcohol allowance.  It's it. It's all you're allowed. It's given out by the state.  Do we have scales at the door of a bakery? And only allow those were the BMI under 26 into the shop to buy the pies.  I would certainly be healthier if I had somebody telling me what I could eat, limiting my drink, compelling me to exercise them, prohibiting me from smoking and drug taking.  Would I be happier? I don't think so. What about you?  I think it's bold. I think it could work.  The vast majority of people, if you've...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A tobacco control expert says she has serious concerns about new smokefree 2025 policies. They will reduce the amount of nicotine allowed in cigarettes and limit the number of retailers who can sell them.  Director of the Centre of Research Excellence, Dr Marewa Glover, says the new measure will demonise smokers and discriminate against the most vulnerable.  She told Kerre McIvor, forcing people to deal with less nicotine will have negative unintended consequences. Dr Marewa Glover joined Kerre McIvor. “Concerned about increased suicide rates, increased psychosis, smoking among people with severe mental health conditions is very high.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland Transport is being criticised for a cycleway plan costing $8m per kilometre. More than $144 million out of a billion-dollar city Council climate package will go on 18 kilometres of cycle infrastructure. It's much pricier than Wellington's bike cycle plans at 1.5 million dollars a kilometre. Greater Auckland advocacy website’s editor, Matt Lowrie joined Kerre McIvor. “This 18 kilometres which is also on top of other things that they’re rolling out is really just a drop in the bucket of what’s needed to make a safe cycling city.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand is a nation of small and medium businesses. 97 percent of all firms are classified as SMEs. They account for 28 percent of employment and contribute more than 1/4 of New Zealand gross domestic product. It has never ever been easy to be a small to medium business owner. These days I don't know how you’re all surviving, what with lockdowns vaccine issues for both staff and customers, the extra holidays that have been introduced, the extra leave allowances.  Now we have the fair pay agreements. In principle, the aim of sector wide agreements is to strengthen bargaining power for workers, and regulate things like base wages, working hours, overtime penalty rates - this comes from human resources directors. We've been looking at them across different countries, so that's what they're intended to do. Just like the old unions used to do.   Under the system, a union would be able to begin the process with the agreement of 10% of the workforce or 1000 employees, and that would begin a period of bargaining between the union and the peak body representing employers within that industry. If both sides agree on the terms of the fair pay agreement, it will go to a vote among employers and employees. A simple majority from both groups as needed before the agreements ratified. If it fails, bargaining begins again, but if it fails twice, the Employment Relations Authority will be called in to make the final decision.  Now the Government says FPAs are needed to create a stronger ground floor for wages and prevent businesses from undercutting their competitors by paying staff less contributing to a low wage, low value economy, which many believe has happened as a result of great deal of immigration within these country, and unscrupulous employers underpaying migrants who desperately need the job. So, people who are paying their employees fairly can't win the contracts because they're being undercut time and time again.  However, is the FPA too much of a blunt tool? To rectify that situation, business groups believe FPAs will strangle employers, hampering their ability to hire new staff and grow, if they can't afford the industrywide pay rates.  Business New Zealand has confirmed it's refusing to be the Government’s nominated partner in implementing the national pay agreements. Business NZ CEO Kirk Hope told Mike Hosking on the Mike Hosking Breakfast this morning that the FPA, the Fair Pay Agreement, should not be called an agreement at all.  I'd be interested to find out what you think on this, to the SMEs I think Kurt was talking about an employer in Te Awamutu who might have to pay the same rate as somebody in Auckland, and there's no kind of flexibility around conditions and around pay.  So that I would have thought that might be difficult for employers, but it also might be difficult for employees who want a little bit of flexibility in perhaps the hours they work, how they work, do they do some from home, some from the office, and in that case, you negotiate a different pay rate.  Do we need that kind of blunt tool? I know there have been cases because people have told me so of people being able to undercut those employers who pay their employees good wages. Unfortunately, there are always going to be customers and consumers who just go for the cheapest deal. They won't ask the questions that really need to be asked. Are your employees getting the living wage?  And hospo and construction, in just about all of the trades, you will find unscrupulous employers who are not doing the right thing by their employees. They're the minority, but it happens. And the good employers miss out. Because, of course, the unscrupulous ones are cheaper. Is the FPA going to fix that though? Or is it going to create more problem than it solves?   The unintended consequences of what the Government legislates for and brings in as a way of fixing a problem, seems to cause of many more than...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour and National are making changes to their controversial housing bill which is being rushed through Parliament before Christmas. The two parties came together for the bill to make it easier to build three buildings, of three storeys, on most sections in our biggest cities. Initially, the bill allowed height to boundary ratios of 6m at the side and rear boundaries, but concerns over sunlight loss saw the environment select committee recommend this be reduced to 5 metres as of last Thursday. Now, an amendment from the Government, which National has indicated it is likely to support, has watered that down to 4 metres with the same recessionary plane. Town Planning consultancy company Sentinel Planning says it's being rushed through before Christmas without considering the impact on communities.  Managing Director Simon O'Connor told Kerre McIvor it would be radical. "It's a massive change, it's going to cause a lot of stress and concern for people who enjoy their outdoor space as it is." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.