Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

Well, this Orewa development's giving fast-track consenting a very bad name, isn't it? I am absolutely gobsmacked. I am no property developer, but I would have thought you wouldn't apply to put up hundreds and hundreds of houses before you had, if you’ll excuse me, your shit together, quite literally. The decision to greenlight a 1,217 home development on the outskirts of Orewa has attracted heavy criticism from the Auckland ...

A developer says controversy around a housing build near Orewa in north Auckland should prompt a rethink.

The 1200 home Delmore development —now fast-track-approved— can't be connected to wastewater infrastructure until at least 2033. 

Waste will have to be trucked out.

Urban Planning Specialist Hamish Firth told Kerre Woodham it highlights a lack of support for infrastructure providers.

He says we need to be getti...

Today, the 111 call out and the fact that St John is absolutely under the pump and has been for quite some time and they're not expecting it to finish anytime soon. On Saturday, 2,562 calls came into the ambulance through 111 the highest number received ever in a single day. But then that was the third time the daily record had been broken in a week.

Just last week, the record number of 111 calls was set, then surpassed, then surpa...

In the first episode of the 100 Years of ZB Podcast, Mike Hosking takes you through the birth of the iconic 1ZB in 1926. 

The episode takes you through the history of the station from 1926 until the beginning of 1987. You'll hear snippets from the iconic names  - like Phil Shone, Aunt Daisy, Selwyn Toogood, Merv Smith and Marina (Jocelyn Parr). 

Mike Hosking will also take you back in time to the famous moments from ...

Christopher Luxon says he supports having another referendum on the MMP voting system if he’s re-elected as he encourages greater support for National so the party can avoid working with “some yahoo and numpty” in Cabinet.

Act leader David Seymour says he’s not opposed to another referendum but suggests Luxon “may not have thought through what he’s saying” regarding ministers from other par...

So, the Corrections Minister has halted a $9 million plan, as you will have heard this morning, to provide Rongoa Māori healthcare in prisons, including giving prisoners traditional massages called mirimiri, after questions were asked about the programme. Mark Mitchell said, first I heard of it. But Corrections launched a procurement process for the services in all New Zealand prisons in July, after a trial was run in a couple of p...

Unemployment's reached the highest level in 11 years.  

Stats NZ data shows the rate reached 5.6% in the June quarter, up from 5.3% in the March quarter.  

Of the 166 thousand unemployed in this year's second quarter, almost a-fifth had been without work for more than a year.  

Herald Business Editor at Large Liam Dann told Kerre Woodham some economists think the rate won't fall again any time soon.  

He says so...

As the election draws closer, many people are struggling to decide who to vote for. 

There’s a concern that politics have become too divided, and people are becoming disillusioned with the parties they’ve supported in the past.  

At the same time, there are concerns about the more extreme views of minor parties, and the impact they have when forming coalitions. 

Political analyst and Director of Victoria ...

A friend of mine said to me the other day, “do you have the cliff notes of Labour's policies going into the election? I haven't heard much from Chris Hipkins.” I said, “well, you haven't heard much from Chris Hipkins because he doesn't need to say much.” The best tactic for Labour right now, and they've they copped onto that very early, was to stay shtum and let National and its coalition partners do their v...

We opted to go with Act wanting to give teachers the legal power to remove seriously or persistently disruptive students from a classroom. Now in an election year with parties struggling to get airtime and oxygen, you have to wonder how much of this is serious policy, how much they seriously think they can get pushed through in a coalition, how much is just to generate headlines.

I'd venture to suggest this falls into that category...

ACT wants teachers to have the legal power to remove disruptive students from classrooms and, in some cases, use reasonable force if they refuse to leave.

The party is also proposing fines of up to $3,000 for parents who fail to address ongoing behaviour problems.

They argue classroom disruption is harming student achievement and teacher retention, citing Education Review Office findings that many teachers deal with disruptive beha...

From good news to bad news really – a growing number of pensioners are turning to the Government's hardship support network as a last resort as the cost of living crisis grinds on. Applications for temporary additional support from New Zealand super recipients have almost tripled since 2020, rising from around about 22,000 per year to more than 61,000 in 2025.  

Retirement Commission research revealed to Newstalk ZB high...

One district is crediting its proactive programme for its top water ranking.  

The Water Services Authority's latest report suggests Grey District, the Far North, Queenstown, Ashburton, and Clutha councils are the worst for leakages.  

Meanwhile the place with the least leakages is Hauraki District Council.  

Mayor Toby Adams told Kerre Woodham the District has invested heavily in ensuring local dairy farms have reli...

The first national picture of our water networks has revealed severe and immense pressures, with an average of 31 wastewater overflows across New Zealand every single day given as an example of how it's failing. In total, about 15% of our pipes are in poor or very poor condition – and that’s likely to be understating it, given that the pipes are under the ground and we only know there's a problem when there's a problem,...

Now in any recession, it's the young ones who are going to find it hardest to get jobs, and this recession is no different. Student Job Search says many students and graduates are really struggling to find jobs, part time, full time, which means they're also finding it tough to pay the rent and to put food on the table. And just looking at the story, it seems that many young people who've followed their passions are finding it the ...

A big job to hire the next float builder for the country's biggest Christmas parade. 

Auckland's Farmers Santa Parade's long-time elf is retiring his paintbrush - after five decades of building iconic floats. 
Applications are open for his replacement - requiring artistry and carpentry to take on a few new editions each year. 

Children's Christmas Parade Trust Chair Simon Bridges told Kerre Woodham they aren't res...

Now it's just over three months till the election. It is a really important election. New Zealand is struggling to get back on its feet economically. A lot of Kiwis are hurting, and they've been hurting for a long, long time. And they have to decide between a party that gives them stuff, “Oh look, we've got free stuff for you," or a party that is promised to fix things, “Hey, we're in charge here," but is still in the p...

Taxing the super-rich has been tried overseas and hasn't always worked out, one expert says. 

The Greens have set their wealth tax rate at 2.5%, but Treasury modelling suggests it could shrink the taxable wealth base by more than 40%.  

The party's own modelling puts the reduction at about 28%.  

Dentons tax partner Bruce Bernacchi told Kerre Woodham if introduced, we'd be only one of five countries that have it.&nbs...

Borrowers' pockets may feel the most impact from more regular inflation reports.  

From next July, Stats NZ will phase in monthly Consumer Price Index reporting on top the current quarterly reports.  

Statistics Minister Scott Simpson says it'll keep businesses, households, and decision-makers, like the Reserve Bank, better-informed.  

The Herald's Liam Dann told Kerre Woodham it will also mean interest rates can be ...