17 NOV 2022 · Statistics released yesterday showed that New Zealand's smoking rate has fallen to an historic low of 8% of adults smoking daily, down from 9.4% a year ago, probably down from 99.4% about 50 years ago. I might have just made-up that last one. Associate Minister of Health Doctor Ayesha Verrall said the Government's plan to reduce smoking is working. The number of people smoking fell by 56,000 over the past year, despite the pressures and stress of the pandemic, which is a good point and smoking rates are now half of what they were ten years ago.   However, the numbers of people vaping are up and that concerns the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation. These rates continue to climb dramatically they say, particularly amongst young New Zealanders aged between 15 and 24 and amongst Maori women.   According to the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation, vaping has been promoted by the Ministry of Health as a smoking cessation tool. If it's working then we should see the rates of smoking falling across the board, but that's not what the stats show. It's particularly worrying, they say, that youth smoking rates are static after falling for many years, while vaping rates continue to rise rapidly in this group.  They've got a pilot program. And they're hoping to roll that out in the regions next year. We've all got something, haven't we? Is there anybody who does not have a bad habit? You know, even if you're not a drinker or smoker or drug taker. You might be a nail biter, a teeth grinder, or something. We've all got something. We know that smoking is bad for you. We've made it so expensive that we're helping you help yourself, even if you don't want to. I mean there would be very few people who could afford to smoke a couple of packs a day. It's become almost socially unacceptable to be a smoker, a vaper, however, is another matter. Goodness me so many people who smoke, end up with lung disease. End up literally coughing their lungs out in their dying days, huh? How can this be? And we haven't got that yet for vaping. It appears that the jury is still out. So while you don't know it's bad for you, you can keep doing it. Yet for a lot of people smoking vaping it's the inhalation, and the acceleration of breath that is the calming. That's the calming action. It's not so much the nicotine, it's the fact that you're doing the deep breathing. It's an adult version of a pacifier. Putting something in your mouth calms you down.  I get where the asthma and respiratory foundation are coming from saying that anything, any foreign bodies, inhaling any kind of chemicals, any kind of substance you inhale is going to be bad for you. But is it really as bad as smoking? Do we really need programs working with youth to educate and help quit vaping? I know there are people who are absolutely into it. But like I say we've all got something, haven't we? And if this is the lesser of two evils, why not? 

17 NOV 2022 · Requesting a ride has become one of the easiest things to do, you pull out your phone and with a touch of a button a driver has been sent to your location. However, if you live with a disability and use a wheelchair to get around, you are more likely to get your rides cancelled on the spot or have the other problem of nobody turning up due to the lack of accessible vans. Barney Koneferenisi is a New Zealand Paralympian who has represented us in wheelchair rugby and is fundraising to launch an accessible rideshare service for people with disabilities. Barney Koneferenisi joined Kerre Woodham. LISTEN ABOVE

17 NOV 2022 · New Zealand now has one of the lowest smoking rates in the world. The annual New Zealand Health Survey shows that New Zealand smoking rate has fallen to a historic low of 8% of adult smoking daily, down from 9.4% a year ago. However, vaping is now more popular than cigarettes, with more than 40,000 Kiwis vaping daily and it's rising rapidly among young people. Dr Kelly Burrows is an associate professor at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland. She joined Kerre Woodham to discuss. LISTEN ABOVE  

16 NOV 2022 · The Government has announced more funding to the tune of $540 million to build infrastructure for thousands of extra homes around the country. Minister of Housing Dr Megan Woods made the announcement early Thursday and said that laying the literal groundwork with funding for roading, Three Waters infrastructure and flood protection will allow land to be prepared ready for affordable homes. Dr Megan Woods joined Kerre Woodham. LISTEN ABOVE  

15 NOV 2022 · Is Environment Minister, David Parker, the David who has tamed the RMA Goliath? The Resource Management Act as an absolute monster that's chewed up and spat out politicians of yesteryear, who have attempted to tame it in the past and bring it under control.  Now David Parker says he has done that. He and previous Ministers have noted that the Resource Management Act has failed at two of its key tasks; to allow development to take place and to protect the environment. The two should not be mutually exclusive. You should be able to allow for development, but not at the cost of the environment.  So the Government has come up with three new laws to replace the act. One law will focus on planning. One will set rules for land use and the allocation of resources, and one will deal with the effects of climate change. One hundred RMA plans will be reduced to 15 - one for each geographical region. They have promised that the new laws will be cheaper, faster and better. The Government will set a directional framework and then the 15 regions will operate with. There will be more of a general idea of what's expected and required rather than ad hoc, willy-nilly decisions.  That is the theory. What do the poor people at the coalface of dealing with the RMA have to say about the changes? Well, some are cautiously optimistic. Might work, might be faster, and might be cheaper. Some say the Act is fine. It's just the way it was misused and abused.  I mercifully haven't had to have any dealings with the RMA to my knowledge, other than as a taxpayer. But for those of you who have had to try and interpret it, do your interpretive dance according to the instructions in the manual, I’d love to hear your views. 

15 NOV 2022 · The Government plans to repeal the ailing RMA for new legislation by the next election. It will eventually slash and merge the 100-plus plans produced under the RMA, to just 15. The transition is expected to take roughly 10 years and is expected to cut costs to users by almost $150 million a year, as well as shorten the time to get a building consent. But will the new system stack up? Mt Hobson Group is a specialist Urban Planning and Resource Management consultancy and Director Hamish Firth joined Kerre Woodham. LISTEN ABOVE  

14 NOV 2022 · Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran joined Kerre Woodham Mornings live in studio to take your calls. LISTEN ABOVE

14 NOV 2022 · Honestly, a budget of $2.9 billion and this is the best Waka Kotahi can come up with? They've announced sweeping speed limit decreases on state highways around the country, saying it is our, Waka Kotahi’s, responsibility to do better as this year's road toll surpasses 2021’s deaths, with more than a month and a public holiday to come.  This is how they do better? I cannot believe the amount of money that is spent on the people within the organisation, the consultants, the studies, the research, and the answer is; ‘go slow’. Dylan Thompson, the AA Road safety spokesperson, was on Early Edition this morning and said that lowering speed limits does make a difference to the road toll.  And we’ve seen that in places like Ponsonby Rd in Auckland. A very busy strip full of restaurants and cafes where you have people whose judgment perhaps might be slightly clouded, you know, attempting to step out into traffic. When they lowered the speed limit on that busy inner city street to 40kms, it's made a difference. There are fewer pedestrian injury crashes. But it's an inner city street, big difference to a highway.  National’s transport spokesman Simeon Brown says the responses, a shortsighted quick fix, attempt to address the problem of road safety that is overly simplistic and doesn't deal with the underlying issues. Darn tootin’ Simeon. With a budget of $2.9 billion, perhaps Walka Kotahi can assist people into safer, newer cars. Then you'd see the numbers come down. With a budget of $2.9 billion, perhaps you can fix a few potholes so that when somebody in an old unsafe vehicle hits one, they don't go careering off and crash and kill themselves. Put in a few median barriers. Their answer is that speed kills.  Well of course it does. You can't come to grief if you're stationary, can you? And that's what the answer seems to be for Waka Kotahi and this Government overall. Have us all sitting there still, stationary, going nowhere. Ahh, but at least we'll be safe. 

13 NOV 2022 · I hope your weekend was as splendid as mine. There’s nothing like catching up with friends, spending time with the family on a glorious summer's day. It was just wonderful.  It did involve a lot of toing and froing across the harbour bridge of course. Living on the North Shore as I do now, there were things to do in town and people to see in town and then back we come, which means that a harbour crossing upgrade, a second harbour crossing, has become of more than theoretical interest for me.   Talk of a second harbour crossing for Auckland has been going on for decades, as you would well know. Matt Lowry gives a great summary of the history of harbour crossings or discussions there of in greaterauckland.org.nz. He said in a series of op-eds in the Herald, in 1975 the great visionary Sir Dove Myer Robinson said that a decision on a new bridge or tunnel was urgent, claiming the bridge would reach maximum carrying capacity by 1981 to 1982. So that was in 75. You had the Mayor saying this is a matter of some urgency.  I mean, there have been studies up the wazoo. There have been more studies than factories have produced toilet paper. The NZTA has spent 25 million on investigating another crossing and 55 million on property purchases for things that might happen in the future, but haven't been decided on yet. A decision has to be made. It's not going to get any cheaper. Previous generations have bitten the bullet and understood the necessity of funding big scale projects that will future proof the country. Somebody needs to have the cojones to make a decision that successive administrations have failed to make since 1975. Because the Hail Mary’s, Inshallah’s or hoots wahey’s are only going to protect us for so long before inevitably tragedy happens. 

13 NOV 2022 · It's Fraud Awareness and with that comes a fresh warning to be vigilant when it comes to fraud, as complaints increase. Financial Service Complaints Limited says it's seen an increase of about 20 percent in the past year. Financial Ombudsman Susan Taylor says complaints range from people ripped off in investment scams, to people having their identity stolen and used to obtain credit. FSCL Financial Ombudsman Susan Taylor joins Kerre Woodham. LISTEN ABOVE