Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

This week Tony Astle ate at The Engine Room, an Auckland restaurant with a focus on seasonal dishes and locally grown produce. He sampled the Bluff Oysters, the Grass Fed Scotch Steak with Maitre d’hotel butter, Hapuku -the catch of the day- with eggplant, caponata, and saffron aoli, and the twice-baked Cheese Souffle, which was once a signature dish at his own Antoine's.  The twice-baked cheese souffle from the Engine Room. Photo / Tony Astle Plus, for desert he tried the Coconut Panacotta, the Chocolate cremino al chocolato, and topped it all off with a selection of cheeses. "A four tick experience... bordering on five ticks."   LISTEN ABOVE   Recipe of the Week: French Onion Soup Photo / Getty Ingredients 2 tbsp oil  10 large onions peeled and thinly sliced  1 tsp sugar  1 tbsp flour (optional)  3 litres heated fresh beef stock  375 ml dry white wine  Note: This soup is best made at least two days before it is required.   Method 1. In a heavy-bottomed pot add the oil, sliced onion and sugar. 2. Over a low heat, slowly cook the onions, stirring frequently. 3. This process will take some time. 4. When the onions are caramelised, but not burnt, sprinkle them with flour. 5. Stir well. Then, add the heated stock and the dry white wine. 6. Bring to the boil. Skim-off any scum that floats to the surface throughout cooking. 7. Reduce heat, simmer for about 40 minutes. 8. Remove from heat, chill, then refrigerate until required.   To Serve  1 Baguette thinly sliced  Gruyere cheese, grated  1. Preheat an oven to 180 deg C. 2. Heat the soup, then ladle it into individual ramekins. 3. Top with slices of baguette, liberally sprinkled with enough Gruyere to cover the top (about 3 tbsp per ramekin). 4. Place in oven and bake until golden brown.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government will officially announce this morning a plan “to flood the market” with land for development in a bid to end New Zealand's housing crisis. Chris Bishop will use a speech to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand later this morning, to announce a slew of changes to New Zealand's planning laws.  He wants to flood the market with affordable land to develop and to make it easier and cheaper to develop that land into housing as he told Mike Hosking this morning.    CB: We're going to let cities grow, Mike, it's really important. We've got a housing crisis. We need to allow our cities to grow. We need to get rid of the Auckland metropolitan urban limit. Let Auckland grow out at the fringe, but also do sensible density around transit corridors and around our train stations. More apartments by train stations, more mixed-use zoning, let our cities grow and get on top of this multi-generational problem of housing affordability.  MH: Is this mainly metropolitan? Rural New Zealand, provincial New Zealand doesn't really need to worry about any of this, cause it's not really a problem for them or not?  CB: Yeah, what we call tier one and two cities, so Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, Hamilton, Tauranga, we're not talking about provincial and, and regional rural councils, you know, they've got growth ambitions as well, but we're really talking about our big cities.      Excellent. We need more homes. The lack of affordable housing has left a generation feeling locked out of home ownership and the lack of social housing has led to a myriad of social problems.   But. But. But. There must be protections for future homeowners around the quality of the builds for the community, for all of us who call a city home. Just look around Auckland City if you've visited, if you live here, so many of the apartments chucked up in the 90s are aesthetically abhorrent. They are not fit for purpose. There was no thought put into building them, just chucking them up to basically factory farm people. There must be some rules around what developers can build and how they build. Green spaces, community spaces, homes, just as a basic, that don't leak or have bits drop off into the street. Parkwood Apartments, City Garden Apartments, Victopia, Harbour Oaks, The Pulse, Westmount, St Lukes Gardens, Stonefield villas, that is on the first 2 seconds of a Google search of Auckland apartments that need to be remediated. And the human misery that goes along with sinking your money into a spanking new apartment, only to have it fall around your ears a decade later cannot be overestimated.   So fine, do quality apartments with community spaces, green spaces, that allow for people to live in them. Not just shelter overnight but to live in them. And to live in them for as long as they want, not have to move out while dangerous buildings are repaired. There has got to be some comeback on the developers. So that is one concern.   The other is the idea of moving beyond the city limits. I mean, Auckland is a great sprawling metropolis anyway, it's just about at Hamilton already. Wellington, the geography sort of precludes you from sprawling, but you're certainly inching your way out there. Urban areas expanded by 15% from 1996 to 2018, with 83% of that land converted from farmland. The area of highly productive land lost to housing increased by 54% between 2002 and 2019. And market pressures (this is a story from 2021) will increase with more demand as the population grows here and overseas. Only about 15% of land is flat with good soil and climate, that makes it ideal for food production, which means it needs lesser irrigation and fertilizers. The Ministry for the Environment said if productive land was not available for agriculture, it forced less suitable areas to be used, requiring more fertilizer and more irrigation, which could then hurt the wider environment.   I am absolutely not against building more homes, building more apartments, building more houses, we have to, there's no two ways about it, but we have to do it properly. We have to recognise that if we don't do it well, all we're doing is taping up a problem in the short term, while creating a much, much bigger problem down the line. And I think future generations will have more than enough to deal with, without us giving them even more problems. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christopher Luxon joined Kerre Woodham for an hour of talkback, taking questions from listeners and delving into their plans for the upcoming months.  The Prime Minister says our housing development has been running like it's 1975.   The Housing Minister is today announcing planning changes agreed by Cabinet in an effort to address the housing crisis.  It will reform council powers on urban boundaries, liberalise planning, and require councils to plan for 30-years of growth.  Christopher Luxon told Kerre Woodham that he recently opened a great build-to rent-development in Auckland's Sylvia Park.   He says we've ended up in a crisis because we haven't evolved laws to unlock those kinds of developments, or to encourage investment in build to rent programmes.  With politics heating up all over the world, Luxon is keeping his thoughts about major overseas elections to himself.   Democrat US President Joe Biden and former Republican President Donald Trump are facing off again on the 2024 election campaign trail.   Meanwhile, people vote today in the UK on whether to support Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservatives or flip to Labour and Keir Starmer.   Luxon told Kerre he can work with either Biden or Trump.   He says it's his job to advance New Zealand's interests, and he will do the same in the UK with Sunak or Starmer.  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

First up today, a suite of announcements around the media. Paul Goldsmith, Minister for Broadcasting, thank heavens, has agreed to progress the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill. This was a bill initially proposed by Labour and rejected by National. Now, however, the coalition government, minus one of its partners, is progressing with amendments to support our local media companies to earn revenue for the news they produce and in effect, throw them a lifeline, help them survive. Paul Goldsmith says the key change, the reason why they are now supporting the bill, is adopting a ministerial designation framework. This will enable the Minister to decide which digital platforms are captured by the bill, allowing the government to manage unintended consequences.   The unintended consequences are part of why ACT are not supporting the bill as David Seymour explained to Mike Hosking this morning.    “It's not always obvious who needs who the most, and when it comes to digital media, whether it's the Herald online, or Stuff, or whatever, they are benefiting from being able to be found on Google, from having their stories shared on Facebook and Instagram, and I've heard from people who work on those companies, that they're trained to help enhance their visibility on these internet platforms so they get more readers.   “Now, if you're going to try and strike a deal it's not actually obvious who should be paying who, for what service. But to put a politician in the middle trying to figure that out, well, that's the kind of policy we expect from the Labour Party and of course, the, the origin of it is a Labour policy, and I just think we’ve got to be honest about, you know, the problems with the media actually relate to the product. It's never been easier to share news, you know, it's not like you have to pay a network of thousands of school kids to deliver papers every morning. Anyone can start a media company. It's easy to communicate. The issue is, I don't think people want the product. And if you start trying to subsidise by pulling down other companies that are doing, well, you're just delaying the change that needs to happen that we need more journalism we can actually trust.”    And therein lies the point really, is it just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic? One of the unintended consequences they were concerned about was that in Canada, Meta blocked users’ ability to share or view news content. And that led to a significant reduction in traffic to smaller independent media websites and the government having to bail them out. And if news disappears from social media platforms there's fears misinformation will take its place. Well, that's already alive and well and thriving in different corners of the Internet.   Goldsmith says, however, they will ensure an appropriate independent regulator is appointed as the Bills authority. In addition, he points out much of the legislation underpinning the media landscape is outdated and stifling innovation. While full legislative review does take time, Paul Goldsmith said we're starting by removing outdated advertising restrictions for Sundays and public holidays. So basically, that means you can see your KFC, and McDonald's, and your Beds R US, and Tina from Turners on Sundays now, Christmas Day, and Easter.   And don't you dare complain because nobody's watching terrestrial television anymore, or certainly not in the numbers to warrant any complaints to be taken seriously. The government's also going to tweak the eligibility criteria for the New Zealand's Screen Production Rebate for local shows with strong industry and cultural value. Why should international film producers get their rebate when local producers don't? So, Shortland Street gets a lifeline. Does this mean it adds so much cultural value that it can justify being publicly funded rather than standing on its own two feet? It's an adult now. It's been around for long enough. Should it still be living at home with the government, getting funded by the government?   I don't know that giving television the ability to advertise on Sundays and public holidays is going to save it either. I'm not sure the revenue that's going to come in is even remotely going to help in terms of keeping traditional media, mainstream media, alive. Is it simply delaying the inevitable?   Where do you get your news from? Where do you get trusted sources of information? Do you also go to places where you find yourself railing at either the announcer or the tenor of the interview, or the information just so you can hear another side?  Or do you prefer to hear your own views reinforced? Do you still check in with the mainstream media websites? Is there anyone still getting a newspaper delivered? When my mum gave up her subscription, I thought well, that's it. That's the end of that, I thought to myself. Is it just going to have to transform itself completely in terms of not only how it delivers news, but what it delivers? What sort of information you want? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wairoa's getting another funding boost of half-a-million-dollars for recovery from last week's major flooding.  More than 100 properties were badly damaged in a district still recovering from last year's Cyclone Gabrielle.  It brings Mayoral Relief Funding allocated so far to $600 thousand.  Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell says it'll go into pressing and immediate needs in the community.  He says it'll ensure ongoing support for clean-up costs such as drying houses and removing damaged materials from homes.  Wairoa Mayor Craig Little told Kerre Woodham that while $500k won’t go far, at the end of the day, the government didn’t create this mess.  He said that this was not a big rain event, and the regional council need to come out and apologise, otherwise they’re going nowhere.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“A successful second quarter Action Plan shows the coalition Government has continued to build on the momentum of its first 100 days”, says the press release from the Prime Minister's office. Well, Christopher Luxon would say that wouldn’t he?   The Press release continues: “Actions the coalition government has taken this quarter include:   - Deliver tax relief to hardworking New Zealanders.   - Support young families with the cost of childcare through the Family Boost tax credit.    - Set ambitious Government Targets to improve the lives of New Zealanders   - Restore Three Strikes and establish a Young Serious Offender category to hold serious, persistent offenders to account.”  It goes on. Certainly, it appears the tougher stance on crime and giving police permission to police seems to be working. I’m not entirely sure there's wholesale relief after the tax relief, and the government really does need to sort out their boot camps and who's running them before they can claim to be sorting out the young, serious, persistent offenders. But nonetheless, whether you agree with what the coalition government is doing or not, at least you know what they're doing. They set out the plans. They then report back as to whether they've achieved them, and they let us know.   The Prime Minister told Mike Hosking this morning that his way of doing things is that they have a different way of running things from previous governments, but they're trying to be transparent.   “I publish these quarterly plans and people will say to me, you know, why do you do that? Well, I'm doing it because I'm trying to be transparent about what we're working on as a government in the next 13 weeks, and some of it is taking decisions and making sure we get alignment inside our government and our coalition to do those programmes. A lot of it's introducing legislation. This August, you're going to see all our gang laws get actually passed into law. That's a six month process, we kicked that off in that first 100 days. Now that's going to be law. That will be picked up by police in October and away we go. So it does take time, but it's really at the moment, it's the turn around. You've got to just be what's the problem I'm trying to solve? What's the common sense solution that deals with that? Right, is that moving forward in the next 13 weeks or not? And it's focusing tremendously a public service that hasn't had direction and it's also focusing my ministers and my conversations with them about what I'm expecting from each of them. And it's always done through the mantra of rebuild the economy, restore law and order, deliver better public services, particularly health and education.”  So that was the Prime Minister with Mike Hosking this morning. And sure, as some of the things might be a bit Betty Basic on the Q3 40 point plan that's just been released. Take cabinet decisions. Well, basically that means holding cabinet meetings, hold public consultations. Yeah, good on ya.  And probably, the action on gangs that featured in Q1. So that features in Q3, so a bit of a double up, but that's what I'd do with the big To Do List as well. Write down the really easy things that I was going to do anyway, so I can cross them off and it makes the list look less daunting. And if you can double up... sometimes I'll do bathrooms, and then I'll do polished glass, which includes the bathroom, and I can do 2 ticks off my list, which is a little bit, I think, what the Prime Minister is doing.   But who can blame them? It's a daunting list. And when it's a great big scary list, you need to have a few things you can tick off. Governments love to think that they're all about transparency. Remember the last lot? But this one does appear to be transparent. If you want to have a look at what the government intends to do, you can see it online. If you want to look at how well they have done, you can see it online and then you can make your own judgments as well. I feel they are being transparent. I feel they are giving us something against which we can measure them. Is that how you feel? Whether you like what they're doing or not, then at least we know what they're doing and then we can think, okay, they're doing a good job/they're not doing a good job.   So far, so good. They've listed what they intend to do, they're following through on their plans, we can see that with the gangs. They've said that Q3 is where they're going to be focusing on the gangs and clamping down on gang activity. The way gangs advertise themselves through the patches, through the gatherings, and we can judge whether they're having any effect or not. So yes, I think they are being transparent, might be a slightly more business-like way of doing things by setting out a list or a 40 point plan. The stats seemed to be coming through and that was always something I wanted the last lot to do. Show me. If your ideas are that great, show me they're working, give me some numbers, and that was something that the last lot failed to do. So, so far, so good. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Big day today. Paid parental leave increases in line with increases to the average weekly earnings, so if you're about to go off on maternity leave, you will have an increase in parental pay for up to 26 weeks. Regional fuel and diesel taxes gone, saving the drivers of Toyota Corollas - those fairies of the land, the wakas of the whenua – about $6 every time they fill up, but you will need that $6 because that's going to go somewhere else. Higher rates are kicking in. In Auckland, Watercare is raising water bills by 7.2 percent, so that's going to hit households and the $5 prescription charges are back for those who are eligible. And I saw a lot of woe is me, end the world stuff. Honestly, watch the Biden-Trump debate, that is the end of the world. The prescription charges at $5, not so much because there are exemptions for people 13 and under. There are exemptions for people holding a community services card or a dependent child of a community services card holder. If you're 65 and over, you get an exemption and if you hold a prescription subsidy card you don't have to pay. And once you hit twenty prescription items that you have to pay for in a year, you don't have to pay any more. So the end of the world as we know it and the decline of health of all New Zealanders - no, unlikely. And there are plenty of places where you don't have to pay, where the chemists will absorb the charges, so I don't think it's quite worth the hysterical column inches that have been written about it. What else changes today? We've got the reduced brightline test kicking in, meaning people who sell residential investment properties within two years of purchasing will have to pay tax on any gains receive. After two years, you're sweet. If you sell after three years, you won't be taxed on any profits. Try and make a profit in this particular climate, and you'll be doing well. Also new rules for property loans apply as of today. Under the new Reserve Bank, debt to income rules, the majority of property buyers can only borrow up to six times their annual income from banks. If you're an investor at 7 times. So what is that going to mean for you, if you are looking to buy a property? Yes, houses have come down in price, they're not at that those ridiculously overinflated prices they were immediately after Covid. And yes, the average wage has gone up. Is that going to be enough for you to be able to get into your own home? I really do think this is a good investment in families having the parental leave. They get precious little, you know, by the time you've paid off student loans and you're trying to save for your deposit on your house and what have you. We need new babies, otherwise we have to import them from overseas. So we either grow our own or import them, and we need more because the numbers of older people are growing and growing and growing and there aren't going to be the young workers, the tax base, to support all of these people who are now out of work. And who will need care and who will need health care. So I'm all for the parental payments. Brightline tests -does that seem reasonable? Let get you back into the market. The prescription charges, I mean that was such a nonsense, the hoohah over that really and truly. You would have to work quite hard to find a chemist where you had to pay. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More people are turning away from drinking alcohol than ever, according to new data. Premium Kiwi winemaker, Giesen, has invested over a million dollars into removing alcohol from their wine, to keep up with demand. Chief winemaker Duncan Shouler says consumers have always wanted an alternative, but the quality and product choice wasn't there previously. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BrainFit Coach Jude Walter is here to talk us through staying on top of your brain health.  Is it really a case of use it or lose it when it comes to our brains? Spoiler alert – it is!   Click here to order the Brainfit Book Worm Winter Bundle ( 2x best selling books) for just $65 (ex. postage) when you use the promo code: bookworm   Click here to enroll in the Memory Tune online course. Just $100 (ex. postage of supporting workbook) when you use the promo code: memory  LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A familiar voice is back with us...  Allyson Gofton!    Allyson Gofton has been cooking for New Zealanders for nearly 30 years. She is known for her recipes and columns in magazines.  We are constantly talking about the cost of living and grocery prices going up – Allyson will have some tips and tricks to make your dollars go further at the supermarket.    LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.