Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

There's a very interesting piece in the Business Herald written by Tamsyn Parker.Bruce McGechan is an entrepreneur and business exit planning expert, who has written a book about selling your business without any regrets.He warns that many business owners who plan to cash up to fund their retirement are setting themselves up for disaster, if owners count on selling a business to fund their retirement and it doesn't sell, it can leave them without the retirement they want or had planned for.Bruce McGechan joined Kerre McIvor to talk all about it.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Politicians criticising a Government Minister for attending a Mongrel Mob event are being told to come and visit for themselves. The Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson and Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt attended a gathering at the Hamilton gang HQ on Saturday.They discussed human rights, justice and racism in front of a room of patched members.It's sparked criticism from National and ACT Party MPs, but Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom adviser Louise Hutchinson says the media attention is unfair.She told Kerre McIvor critics don't know what was said at the event."We are an organisation that's working bloody hard in the community to turn around the wrongs of the past." Hutchinson denied that the gang is still dealing meth or engaged in criminal activity, asking McIvor: "Why do you keep referring back to criminal activity?" She says that other Ministers have come to visit, but do it "under the radar" due to concern about criticism. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Politicians criticising a Government Minister for attending a Mongrel Mob event are being told to come and visit for themselves. The Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson and Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt attended a gathering at the Hamilton gang HQ on Saturday.They discussed human rights, justice and racism in front of a room of patched members.It's sparked criticism from National and ACT Party MPs, but Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom adviser Louise Hutchinson says the media attention is unfair.She told Kerre McIvor critics don't know what was said at the event."We are an organisation that's working bloody hard in the community to turn around the wrongs of the past." Hutchinson denied that the gang is still dealing meth or engaged in criminal activity, asking McIvor: "Why do you keep referring back to criminal activity?" She says that other Ministers have come to visit, but do it "under the radar" due to concern about criticism. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carmel Sepuloni says her ministry could keep better track of how much its paying out for damaged motel rooms.The Social Development Minister fronted to Kerre McIvor after reports from RNZ that unknown sums of money has been paid to moteliers over damage caused by emergency housing tenants.McIvor described it as "wanton disregard for taxpayer dollars"."I really, really don't mind paying higher taxes when I know the money is going to people who need it, and that it is being valued and prudently managed by the government department that receives it."This is not happening and the Ministry owes it to all of us who are carrying the weight of paying for the rest of the country to show us where and how our money is being spent. It simply isn't good enough."Sepuloni admitted here's no record of reimbursements to moteliers for breakages caused by beneficiaries in emergency housing.She says it's difficult to collate such data because the system's clunky."This is what MSD has said to me, and I've gone back to them and they've said let's look at whether or not we can do that better."Sepuloni says beneficiaries will have to pay for any damage to motel rooms, but when families stay in motels for longer periods, there will inevitably be some damage.She says sometimes there is ill-intent - but that's in complex cases."People with mental health issues in some instances, people with drug and addiction issues, but the alternative to them not being in accommodation is them being on the street." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why is it that children only ever seem to need a doctor after hours? When my daughter was little, it was ear infections.  She didn't get them all that often - about twice a year - but it was always at night time and I would have to head along and pay through the nose for an after hours medical service. It can cost nearly $100 to visit an after hours practice and that's money a lot of people simply do not have.  And that's why they present at their local A&E, putting strain on the hospital system. Now with the announcement of a shakeup of the entire health system, the question is being asked should we pay to visit the GP.  Critics of the current system of funding GPs say its outdated and absolutely flawed and Health Minister Andrew Little agrees – but talking to Mike Hosking this morning, he doesn't appear to know what the answer is or how to fix it.  There has been criticism too of the lack of information sharing between health agencies and that urgently needs to be rectified – Andrew Little says a single database for all health services including GPs and other community health services is the goal.  Let's hope the public service has learned lessons from the Novopay debacle.I wholeheartedly support a transformation of our healthcare system - I just wish it had included dental services, but I shudder at the talk of billions here and billions there. Surely the money tree in Wellington has been shaken almost bare.  Who on earth is going to be paying for all of this?  Have you seen the number of for lease signs around the country? Still, money's cheap right now, the government hasn't had to spend as much as it thought it might have to in terms of Covid recovery and the government - any government - shouldn't be afraid to spend on essential infrastructure. The government says it wants a health care system that treats people before they need to present to hospital - ultimately that will be better for the patient and more cost effective to boot.  But when GP visits can be up to $100 a trip, that's not going to happen. Should there be an incentive - an extension of the Green prescription perhaps?  People who are within a healthy weight range and whose bloods are fine receive a free gym membership – rewarding people for doing the right thing rather than constantly spending on those who don't.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There was quiet, just for a moment, as hundreds of people standing in the intersection at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue crowded in to listen to the news.“They’re announcing the verdict!” someone shouted, calling for silence.Then thunderous cheering filled the place where George Floyd was pinned beneath a police officer's knee nearly a year ago, begging for air and his mother. Many people wept. Some sobbed.They were cheering the first guilty verdict for the fired officer, Derek Chauvin, who was charged with murder and manslaughter. Moments later, another wave of cheers swept the crowd as the other two verdicts — both guilty — were announced. Moments after that, Chauvin put his hands behind his back and was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.In the place now known as George Floyd Square, a spot that millions around the world have seen in videos shot by bystanders during Floyd's arrest, there was relief.Venisha Johnson jumped for joy when she heard the verdicts. Minutes later she could barely speak, she was weeping so hard.“It means so much to me,” said Johnson, who was wearing a mask that memorialized some of Floyd’s final words: “I can’t breathe.”“I’ve been praying for George every day, every morning at 6 a.m. I’m just so happy. The way he was murdered was terrible, but thank you, Jesus,” she said.Some 300 people gathered in the intersection, home to Cup Foods, the corner convenience store where employees had called police on the evening of May 25, saying Floyd had paid for cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. It was Memorial Day.Since then, thousands have come to lay flowers, poems, photos and letters at the site where Floyd had the air choked out of him. They came to stand beside the sculpture that now fills the middle of the street, a huge metal fist raised as a cry for justice. They came to look at the now-closed gas station, where the sign had been covered long ago with a demand: “Justice for George Floyd.”On Tuesday, a protester climbed onto the sign to add two more words: “Justice Served?”For those gathered on Tuesday, they had seen at least the beginning of justice.“Let the healing work begin,” said Jennifer Starr Dodd, a Minneapolis woman, speaking through her tears. “Repentance, accountability, respect. You can’t have healing without repentance.”By early evening, the square was a scene of celebration, prayer and community relief. More and more people streamed in. Someone played a tuba. There were occasional chants of “Say his name! George Floyd!” People danced to “We Gon’ Be Alright” by Tye Tribbet and DMX's “Party Up.” Parents brought children, showing them that, at least sometimes, a Black man could get justice.Chris Gober, 17, brought his younger brother to talk about how Black men can face dangers from the police.“Watch your back. Watch everything you do,” he told the 7-year-old. But Gober also said the verdict was “a start to a change” for a movement to racial justice.Criminal convictions of police officers are exceedingly rare. There have been thousands of police shootings in the U.S. since 2005, but fewer than 140 officers have been charged with murder or manslaughter, according to criminologist Phil Stinson. Before Tuesday, only seven were convicted of murder.Toni Hamilton, who brought her daughters to the intersection to hear the verdict, was deeply relieved at the news.“I feel like for this whole time we’ve all been breathing with half of our breath,” she said. “Now there’s opportunity for the future. ... There’s power when we all come together.”It remains unclear what will happen to the square, which sprang up organically in the days after Floyd’s death, when community members put up homemade barricades to close it off. The city later replaced them with concrete barriers. It has been a place of pilgrimage and picnics, with people painting slogans and portraits on walls and the...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group of 12 elite English, Spanish and Italian clubs dramatically split European soccer on Sunday by announcing the formation of a largely-closed Super League. They are leaving the existing UEFA-run Champions League structure despite warnings they could be kicked out of their domestic competitions and face legal action.The seismic move to shake up the world's biggest sport is partly engineered by the American owners of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United who also run U.S. franchises in closed leagues — a model they are trying to replicate in Europe.The power-play came after the rebel clubs reneged on a promise on Friday to back the plan by UEFA — European football's governing body — to expand the Champions League beginning in 2024. The deal was designed to appease their wishes for more games, seemingly because they couldn't control the sale of rights to the existing competition.The Super League plan was first leaked in January but re-emerged this weekend.Real Madrid president Florentino Perez would be the founding chairman of the SL, which said it "intended to commence as soon as practicable" as a 20-team competition playing in midweek like the current Champions League and Europa League.“We will help football at every level and take it to its rightful place in the world,” Perez said in a statement. “Football is the only global sport in the world with more than four billion fans and our responsibility as big clubs is to respond to their desires.”No evidence was presented that supporters want a Super League. Fan groups across Europe last week criticized even the current Champions League expansion plan as a “power grab."Only 12 clubs have signed up for now — with none from France or Germany — but the SL hopes for three more as permanent members. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are the other founding members, along with Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan. Five slots would be left open to be determined each year based on the previous season's results.UEFA warned clubs that joining the “cynical project" based on self-interest would see them banned from playing in any other competition — domestic, European or global. It said their players could be denied the opportunity to represent their national teams.The statement was issued jointly with the leagues and national governing bodies from England, Spain and Italy.England has the most clubs with the six including Chelsea and Manchester City, who are due to contest a Champions League semifinals this month. Also included is Tottenham, which is outside of the Premier League's top four to qualify for the Champions League next season,“By bringing together the world’s greatest clubs and players to play each other throughout the season, the Super League will open a new chapter for European football, ensuring world-class competition and facilities, and increased financial support for the wider football pyramid,” said Joel Glazer, co-owner of Manchester United and SL vice chairman.Another vice chairman of the new competition would be Andrea Agenlli who on Sunday night quit his role as chairman of the European Club Association, which was working with UEFA on enlarging the Champions League to 36 teams. Agenlli also resigned as a member of the executive committee of UEFA — rupturing his previously-close friendship with the governing body's president, Aleksander Ceferin.The UEFA leader has been determined not to grant more control of the sale of television and commercial rights to the clubs.“We have come together at this critical moment,” Agnelli said, “enabling European competition to be transformed, putting the game we love on a sustainable footing for the long-term future, substantially increasing solidarity, and giving fans and amateur players a regular flow of headline fixtures.”The rebel clubs are all members of the ECA which has a working agreement with UEFA, signed in 2019, which commits all...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nanaia Mahuta's speech on China isn't likely to have come as a surprise to Chinese officials.In a speech to the New Zealand China Council, the Foreign Minister says we need to diversify, and develop other trading relationships.The Foreign Minister says it won't be a shock to exporters that we need to become less reliant on China for trading.She says big exporters are already thinking of building resilience into their business plans, and where those markets are.NZ China Council Chair Sir Don McKinnon told Kerre McIvor it's actually cautious, middle of the road rhetoric."The Chinese understand we have these values and will express them from time to time. They just say this is the way you think, and this is the way we think"LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest report from the Environment Ministry highlights concerns that highly productive agricultural land is being being eaten up by housing developments.The area of highly productive land lost to housing increased by 54 percent between 2002 and 2019.This will only increase as demand for land grows as our population grows.So just how do we provide quality urban housing that people want to live in?Scott Cracknell from Context Architects was involved in designing Hobsonville Point which is considered a great model of suburban mid-scale intensification.Scott joined Kerre McIvor to talk about the issue.LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

And here we go again.We find that a border security guard has not been tested since last November and that there is no system in place to ensure front line border workers are in fact getting their tests and their vaccinations. MIQ authorities have relied on individual employers and paper trails to ensure workers are complying and the PM has laid the blame fairly and squarely on the security guard involved – which has shades of the South Auckland KFC worker. Looking at the footage of the select committee hearing yesterday on Three, it was clear the officials at the health select committee hearing had absolutely no idea how many MIQ workers has not been regularly tested and said there are inconsistencies in the testing records and her officials were still checking the data. We have heard this so many times before.  The PM and the Director General of Health have given us over the past year assurances that there might have been stuff ups and there might have been human failures but protocols are in place now and all is well. For over a year now, this has been complete and utter BS.  I don't know how the PM can believe a single solitary utterance that comes out of the Ministry of Health or MIQ. The editorial from the ODT is along the same lines - like me, the writer can't believe how blasé the public is about these mistakes, the slackness the false assurances.  Maybe, the writer opines, it’s because we've dodged a bullet, that we've somehow managed to get away with it. We were told that all MIQ staff were being tested at least every fortnight.  Wrong.  We were told that returnees were being tested on Days 3 and 12.  Wrong.  We were told that there was sufficient PPE.  Wrong.  We were told we were at the front of the queue when it came to vaccinations.  Wrong. This incompetence is absolutely outstanding. The stonewalling and obfuscating from the Government is appalling. I think it is just there to prevent the world from seeing they haven't got a bloody clue, and I maintain, looking at this record from the past year, that it is dumb pure luck.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.