Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

There’s a belief we're still yet to reap the benefits of having inflation under control. Latest Stats NZ figures show the inflation rate for the year to December was 2.2%, unchanged from September. Inflation is well down on the once-in-a-generation high of 7.3% of just two and a half years ago. The Herald's Liam Dann told John McDonald we're still yet to see many prices come down. He says rents are still up for example, but they should be coming down with a struggling property market. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"We will be the envy of every nation and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer. I will, very simply, put America first." And with that, Donald Trump —the 47th US president— probably sent a chill down the spines of truckloads of people around the world. And a chill down the spines of some people within America too - because, some Americans, he won’t be putting first. Which I’ll get to. But do you know what? There was no chill down my spine when I listened to him. Well, that’s not quite correct. There was probably a draught, but there was certainly no chill. Because just like last year when he won the election —when I said that it’s very easy to jump on the hysteria bandwagon over Trump— that’s how I’m feeling too now that it’s happened and he’s the president. I still generally think that. Although there are a couple of things he’s been saying today that have me thinking. But let’s see what happens. That’s what I meant when I said there was a draught down my spine instead of a chill. But generally, when it comes to how I’m feeling about the next four years with him in the White House, I’m more intrigued than anything. Yes, it will be weird at times, but that’s as bad as it’s going to get. For me, anyway, living here in New Zealand. That does come with a few provisos, though. Number one: I’m not an exporter - so I’m not going to be directly affected by any trade tariffs that he might bring in. I do know though that —if it happens— we will all be affected in some way, shape or form, because when exporters do well, we all do well. And when exporters don’t do well - we all feel it. But, as anyone who has exported anything knows, there are always challenges to overcome. So, let’s wait and see what comes of that. But overall, you’ve got to give it to him - he’s not shy on ambition. He’s talking already about getting an American flag on Mars. The weird bit about that is he says it’s possible because America split the atom. Now, this might be a bit of parochial New Zealand coming through, but I’m pretty sure it was Ernest Rutherford who did that. And he wasn’t American. He was born in Brightwater, near Nelson. He went to school in Nelson, went to university in Christchurch and then headed off overseas and did the splitting of the atom thing at the University of Manchester, in Britain. But Donald Trump is never one to let the facts get in the way of anything. He’s been banging on about the US “taking back” the Panama Canal because, at the moment, China’s operating it and there can’t be any more of that nonsense. I’m paraphrasing the president there but that’s the gist of it. He says: “It is time for us to act with courage and vigour”. And no surprises, he’s announced that he’s going to re-name the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America”. But he was talking about that last week, wasn’t he? So a lot of bluster. But here’s the bit where things get a bit ugly. President Trump says his government will only recognise two genders: male and female. He’s going to stop the “social engineering” of “race and gender into every part of life.” And he’s promising to bring back free speech by stopping all censorship. Which is all stuff from the “go woke - go broke” manual. And that’s the bit I’m not liking. Because even though I’m not part of the LGBTQIA+ community, why on earth would you refuse to recognise the way someone identifies? Of course, there’ll be no shortage of people cheering Trump on, on this one. There’ll be no shortage of people, either —like me— who see this sort of talk from the new president as something from an age long gone. But —despite those things— even though there are a few things that President Trump said this morning that I don’t like, I’m still feeling pretty relaxed about it all. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you believed the Prime Minister when he said yesterday that he still has confidence in the now-former health minister Shane Reti, you will believe anything. Let’s face it, though, he couldn’t have said anything different. But whether you believe it or not - that’s another thing. And I don’t. Because he clearly doesn’t - or he clearly doesn’t have as much faith in Shane Reti as he used to. Otherwise, Simeon Brown wouldn’t be the new health minister. And who would want to be Simeon Brown? Being the minister of health, you’re on a hiding to nothing. And who would want to be working in the health system? I wouldn’t. Because, trust me, it’s about to get ugly. I know people working in health might say “it’s pretty ugly already mate”. In fact, one person I know who works pretty high up in the health system - and who is a big advocate of the public system - they’ve been telling anyone who will listen that they should be getting private health insurance. If they can afford it, of course. So here’s why I think things are about to get ugly - or uglier - with Simeon Brown in charge of health. Christopher Luxon says he’s given him the job because he “gets things done”. Which is a term that drives me nuts because this whole idea of “getting things done” says nothing about quality or improvement. It’s just ticking things off the to-do list. Or ticking things off the quarterly plan. And Simeon Brown has form. He’s got a track record from the other ministerial roles he’s had so far where he gets stuff done by telling people what they’re going to do. Local government. He’s made it very clear to local councils who is running the shop. And it’s not them. Transport .He’s flying in the face of what the experts say about speed and he’s going to increase speed limits. And, as of yesterday’s announcement, Dunedin can kiss goodbye to the hospital the people thought they were getting and the hospital they still want to get. Because the Prime Minister is going to be putting Simeon on a plane south to bang some heads together. Which is what the Prime Minister was really saying yesterday. It might’ve sounded like he was saying that the new health minister got the job because he gets stuff done. But what he really meant, was that Simeon’s got the gig because he’s good at banging heads together. Don’t get me wrong - he does get stuff done. But is that really the approach we should be taking when it comes to something as critical as our health system? I don’t think it is. Not that I think Shane Reti was up for the job, either. Last year I ended up in hospital for a night after some pretty bad complications from a flu bug I picked-up travelling back from the UK. And if you ask me how I felt about that experience - it was brilliant. Sure, I would have preferred not to be there in the first place. But I couldn’t have asked for more. And, a lot of the time, from what I hear people say - it seems that most are pretty happy - if not delighted - with the care they receive in hospital. Trick is, though, that’s once they get in the door. Get in the door of your local hospital and, generally, you’re fine. The only proviso I would put on that is that I live in New Zealand’s second-largest city and I know things - even once you’re through the door - can be a bit average at some of our smaller hospitals. Take Dargaville hospital. Last year there was that issue with no doctors on the wards overnight. That had been going on for a few months and the nurses weren’t happy about it. And poor old Shane Reti was in the firing line. Pouring cold water on rumours that the whole place was going to be shut down. But, of course, hospitals are only part of the health system. I heard Bryan Betty, who heads the organisation representing GPs, was saying that he thought Shane Reti had been doing a pretty good job. Which is another reason why I think Simeon Brown is on a collision course. Because even though the Prime Minister didn’t like the pace Shane Reti was working at - and even though I don’t think Shane Reti was all that good as a health minister - I don’t think Simeon Brown’s approach is going to do us any favours at all. Because Mr Get-Stuff-Done is also going to be Mr Get-Peoples-Backs-Up. And that’s not going to do anyone any favours. It’s not going to you any favours. It's not going to me any favours. And it’s certainly not going to do anyone working in the health system any favours. But if Simeon Brown proves me wrong - and if he does manage to get people on-side and does manage to make the health system better than it is now - then I’ll be the first to acknowledge it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"It was the right thing for the UK": Boris Johnson 'unapologetic' about Brexit Boris Johnson is unapologetic about taking his country out of the European Union. He's in New Zealand for a speaking event and to promote his book 'Unleashed'. The former British Prime Minister says while there was panic about Brexit at the time, in the long term it's been good for the UK. He told Kerre Woodham that the split from the EU came in handy during the Covid pandemic. He says it allowed the country to get early access to vaccines before other European countries. Johnson says the massive Conservative loss in this year's UK General Election can't be blamed on him. The Conservative Party's defeat by Keir Starmer's Labour was one of its worst-ever losses. Johnson told Woodham had he and Rishi Sunak teamed up, it would have been a different result. He says if they'd been able to put into action some things they'd planned, they would have wiped the floor with Starmer. He's denied any responsibility for the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and says progress has been slow since he left office. The former Prime Minister says it's "absolute bollocks" to suggest the UK could have a role in negotiating peace between Ukraine and Russia. Johnson says the West has a pathetic paranoia about humiliating Vladimir Putin - and is too half-hearted in helping Ukraine. He says he's fed up with hearing the nonsense idea we'd risk a nuclear confrontation. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.