Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

The Salvation Army is reiterating pleas for donations for Kiwis in need this Christmas and beyond, saying every cent adds up. The charity says its appeal this year —which launched last month— is especially important, with one in five New Zealand children living in households struggling for food. But it says they're in a Catch-22 this year – demand is rising, but donations are declining. Captain Andrew Wilson, Director of Community Ministries for the Salvation Army, told Kerre Woodham that they’re grateful for every gift, whatever size it is. He says that even if it’s just a dollar from every person coming through, that very quickly adds up into something they can very easily put together to support their families. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watercare’s seven year Central Interceptor project is over halfway complete. The aim of the project is to reduce water overflow in the central Auckland area with the construction of New Zealand’s largest wastewater tunnel. The team is about to hit the penultimate breakthrough before arriving at Point Erin Reserve in Herne Bay in March/April of 2025. Watercare Chief Programme Delivery Officer Shayne Cunis told Kerre Woodham that Auckland is going to get a lifetime of benefits from the project. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did you learn about sex? Was it your parents? Your friends? A nice, dry, factual at school, or Heaven forfend, the internet? I was at a Catholic girls’ school in the 80s —that would be the 1980s, not the 1880s just for clarification— and we got pretty much nothing, as you'd expect. I received the bare basics about body functions when I was at intermediate. Girls went one night to the school hall where a projector played an ancient movie about girls and boys developing bodies, and then the boys went the next night for the same screening. Until I discovered Judith Krantz and Jilly Cooper's bonk-busters I had absolutely no idea, I knew they were there, but I didn't know what they were there for. Those books were absolutely great. I smuggled them into the boarding school because they described not only the sex itself, but the emotions and the passions that are tied up with sex. It’s like the difference between knowing that West Coast beach is a risky and then getting caught in a rip. You know that it's dangerous, but until you're in the middle of it, into the middle of those seas and thinking oh my God, this is more than I can handle. Until you experience it, you can know something, but until you experience it, you don't really know it. A report out today says too many young people are leaving school without the knowledge they need to navigate the sexual landscape. Issues like consent, managing feelings, and online safety, and as a result, the Education Review Office says schools should not be required to consult parents about the content of relationships and sexuality lessons. Misinformation, bigotry, threats of violence for heaven's sake have derailed some schools attempts at consultation and prompted some schools to reduce or avoid teaching the topic. Which is bad enough, but a lot of that interference is coming from people in groups who have absolutely no relationship with the school. They don't have kids there, they're just sticking their beaks in and demanding that sex be taught their way. Chris Abercrombie, the PPTA President, said on Early Edition this morning, there needs to be one clear curriculum taught in all schools across the country. “The problem at the moment is in the hands of these schools, and it's not meeting really anyone's needs. As report said, 3/4 of recent school leavers said they didn't learn enough, so the idea of a national curriculum is that everyone knows what's expected, everyone’s got a clear understanding of what's happening, so parents could withdraw their students if they chose to or supplement their students learning if they chose to. It's just giving everyone a clear baseline.” Quite. Well, that seems fair enough, doesn't it? If you don't want your child to be taught the national curriculum, you take them out of class and you teach them. And good luck to your kids if you think the curriculum is too tame, you can add in what you see as the necessary bits at home. Since when did parents consult about the English curriculum? Maths or science curriculum? The one thing you don't want is your child to discover sex through the Internet. Sex education, like English, like maths, like science, needs to be taught the same way right around the country, so that our children have the best possible chance of making the right choices in their lives. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to sex education. And believing that real life relationships are what you see on internet pornography is positively dangerous. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The hooha over the efficacy of the boot camps hasn't gone away anytime soon, although over the weekend we did hear supporters of the scheme, along with the critics. I frightened the horses on Friday morning when I suggested that this iteration of the boot camps - and there have been many, as you know, had got off to a very bad start with one young man dying in a car accident and then two young people fleeing from their community placements. Good news, the two youths have since been found. Bad news, the two were reportedly among four people taken into custody in Hamilton on Saturday night after a stolen Toyota Corolla was spotted on Cobham Drive in Hamilton. The driver allegedly fled after being signaled to stop until the car hit road spikes. Then wielding a machete, tried to carjack another vehicle which drove away. They were then arrested along with two others, the fourth being found about 5 minutes later by a dog unit. In a statement, Karen Chhour said the circumstances were disappointing, but she was relieved the pair had been found. She said the military style academy pilot programme is just that, a pilot programme. It consists of a three month in residence stay, then another nine months back out in the community with mentor support. Oranga Tamariki does not have the ability to restrict the movement of these young people or the choices they make once they're back in the community. The young people have been in either family or community placements where they're trusted to comply with their legal orders. End of statement. And as we all agreed on Friday, nobody is expecting there to be a 100% success rate. These kids are extremely troubled, that's why they're there. The key will be the successful execution of the support they've been promised out in the community. And over the weekend, as I say, we did hear from supporters of the scheme, along with the critics. Of those supporters was Phil O'Reilly, for Business NZ Chief Executive, but spoke to Heather du Plessis-Allan this morning as former welfare expert advisory group member. He says we should stick with the boot camps -they work. I was on one not as a participant, but as a sponsor of one in the John Key government, that version of it. I was not necessarily an advocate turning up to see this thing work, but boy, at the end of it, these kids had their lives changed for the better and the only issue was afterwards they just went back to their old ways and then this new one I'm told attempts to solve that issue. But now these are troubled kids, and they've had tough upbringings, so who knew sometimes they might abscond and do bad things. I know that's a terrible thing that’s happened, but you can't blame the whole system just on that issue. And I think we need to see it through now because I can tell you from personal experience of seeing one of these things in action, these kids walk out better, sober, you know together more team building and so on and they just need support to reintegrate back into a better life ahead. The Chief Children’s Commissioner, Dr. Claire Achmad, also came out in support of them and I must admit I was surprised. Which is my own stereotyping, my own prejudice about what the Chief Children's Commissioner might think or not think. I would have thought she’d be dead against them - not at all. She said, and I quote - “I don't think we could say that the programme is a failure. The key here is that we must not give up on these mokopuna. I've been to the military style academy pilot. I spent a few hours there while the rangatahi were there. I saw how hard the staff there were working to put in place that multi-discipline support around these young people. She says she saw how active and willing the boot camp participants from both sides were and hopes to see it continue with some finding employment and furthering their education. If somebody had said to you, do you believe the Chief Children's Commissioner is for or against the boot camps? I bet there are a few of you, like me, who would have said, oh, she'd be dead against them. Not all. Been there, seen it, likes what she’s seen. There's an amendment bill before Parliament that creates a framework. For the government's new attempt at military style academies and looking at extending them. But people who have worked on the boot camps, who I spoke to, who can't go on the record, say it's not the length of time that you spend on the boot camps. While you're on the boot camps you're safe, insulated from all these stresses, from all the temptations, from all the lure of your old. You're protected. People care about you. They give a damn about you. You're important while you're there. It's all about you and what you need. And the kids do respond to that. They want to be good; they want to be sober. They want to get off the drugs, they want to get away from the gangs. And then they go home. Now the difference between previous boot camps and this one is that there has been the promise of wrap around care, community support, that the young people will get what they need to make the right choices. And let's face it, sending them to prison is not going to help. There are only two young adult units in prison and none for young women, so I guess we’ve got to try everything because there's nowhere else for these young people to go. There has been the promise of support for these young people to help them make the right decisions. Most of us made really stupid decisions when we were the age of these young ones. We just weren't involved in crime. So, making dumb decisions, multiplied by crime, equals trouble. I said on Friday that it got off to the worst possible start. That didn't mean I don't believe in them. I just said it wasn't a great look. The bad starts happened, but at least we've seen prominent supporters come out and say why they believe in it and what needs to happen for it to be a success. And that success does not mean a 100% strike rate and turning all of these young lives around. Hell, you'd take 20% and it would still be worth it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.