Canterbury Mornings with Chris Lynch

With the Government wanting artificial intelligence to be used to mark high school exams, I asked a ChatGPT bot how it felt about that. And here's what it said: "If the Government were to ask me to mark high school exams, I would feel (if I could feel) cautious optimism, with a big dose of responsible hesitation." The bot said, on the upside, it could process thousands of scripts quickly, never get tired, and not suffer from the end-of-day brain fog that human markers do. It also wouldn't mark one student generously and another harshly on a bad day. And it could apply marking schedules with perfect consistency. The bot also said there would be downsides. It said exam answers aren't always clean-cut. A brilliant, unconventional insight might not fit the marking template, but a good teacher sees its value. That's harder for AI to interpret correctly without "massive nuance training". It said AI can reflect biases in its training data. Even small disparities in language use, cultural references, or phrasing could disadvantage students if the system isn't carefully designed and constantly audited. The ChatGPT bot also told me students, parents, and teachers would rightly ask how something was marked, and public confidence could be eroded. It said, on balance, it would be in favour of "hybrid marking”, with AI doing pre-marking and humans handling the grey areas and double-checking. So AI would be a support tool. In short, the AI bot said: "I'm capable. But I shouldn't be trusted alone. Exam marking is too important to hand over fully to a machine - at least not yet." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Opposition leader says he's worried Police are retrenching from rural communities. A planned staffing restructure could move some permanent posted rural officers move to work from 24/7 hubs in Rolleston and Rangiora. Officer headcount won't drop. Chris Hipkins told John MacDonald he's been through this in his own area, in Wellington's Upper Hutt. He says it means Police presence reduces. He says rural communities are being sold the same story it won't affect local policing but the reality is, it will. The Labour leader says Minister Mark Mitchell was happy to see more Policing in Auckland city, and it's time for the Minister to walk the talk and tell the Commissioner he wants rural areas better provisioned. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Canterbury police say they'll still serve rural communities under a plan to centralise officers. They're mid-way through two weeks of internal consultation on a plan to shift some officers from smaller rural stations, to larger 24/7 hubs in Rolleston and Rangiora. District Commander Superintendent, Tony Hill, told John MacDonald rural liaison officers will still work with smaller areas, and police will respond and come in from one of the hubs. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday, when the Government announced that it was getting rid of NCEA, my immediate reaction was that it was a mistake. That we would have been much better sticking with the system we've got and improving it. Twenty-four hours later, I still feel the same. There are some aspects of the changes that I think are brilliant. But the more I've found out about it, the more convinced I am that this could all be done without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. But here's what I like. Quite rightly, people seem to be very excited that the Government wants more young people leaving school with a better understanding of reading, writing, and maths. And it's not going to get any argument from me. Because I think we do need to up our game on that front. Which is why it's going to have this assessment in Year 11 —which is the old 5th form— which will test students on their literacy and numeracy. That's going to be called the Foundational Skills Award. The other week, I was at the supermarket and there was a young guy running the check-out. I wanted to split the bill and, without punching numbers into the till trying to work out what half of the overall amount was, he did the numbers in his head. Correctly, by the way. Which probably shows how low expectations have got when I'm impressed by a young guy at the checkout being able to divide something by two in his head. So that part of what the government wants to do gets a big tick from me. Because being able to read, write, and do maths are essential for life – whatever you might end up doing after you leave school. But that could all be done within the current system, we don't need this major overhaul to achieve that. I'm also loving the fact that kids wanting to do trades will be able to leave school with a qualification that sets them up for it. I see one education expert is poo-pooing that, saying that it will create a two-tier system where some students will end up with a vocational qualification and others with an academic qualification. But so what? That's not two-tier. That's not one qualification for the bright kids and one qualification for the thickies. James McDowell from the Motor Trade Association thinks it's brilliant too that school kids are going to be able to do more at school to ready themselves for taking on a trade. Other concerns coming through are that going back to the old-school system of more exams and pass or fail marks will mean more students finishing school without any qualifications. And I agree that that is a real concern, because the way NCEA is structured at the moment means that someone can get credits for things that aren't all that academic but still mean they leave high school with something to show for their time there. And they don't necessarily have to sit exams to get those credits. So here's what I'd do. I would keep NCEA, but I would incorporate the brilliant bits of what the Government's wanting to do. I'd do the testing of reading, writing, and maths. And I would bring-in the trades training part of it too. And I would make sure there are more compulsory exams. Then, when the kids leave school, I would give them a transcript, like they do at universities. Which would, basically, be a piece of paper showing what subjects they took at high school, what exam marks they got, and what marks they got for other assignments. Overall, it would be a qualification. But then employers, for example, would be able to read it and see more detail of what a student actually did and actually achieved. I think that would be way better than throwing everything in the air and starting again. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just because someone can afford to do something, it doesn't always mean they should do it. Which is how I'm feeling about Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger using his own money to pay engineers to design a replacement for the controversial Park Terrace cycleway which, he says, is under-utilised and causing traffic congestion. According to council data, 648 cyclists use it every week day. Which doesn't sound under-utilised to me. What's more, I don't like the idea of the mayor circumventing his in-house transport staff and getting some private engineers to come up with another design. I think it's very sneaky. You may remember the row over this one a couple of years back, when council transport staff blocked-off one of the lanes heading north on Park Terrace and turned it into a two-way cycle lane. Marking it off with bollards and reducing that stretch of road to one-lane, instead of two. If you can't quite envisage where this is, it's the stretch of road that goes from the Antigua boat sheds, past the museum, past Christ's College and The George hotel, up to Salisbury Street. Which, as I said at the time, was the outcome of the council transport people over-thinking things because they were concerned about cyclists and pedestrians being put at risk by the development work going on at Canterbury Museum. So they thought that closing a lane of traffic, turning it into a cycleway, and making that stretch of road one-lane, instead of two, was the answer. When this all flared-up back in 2023, Phil Mauger got into strife when he said council staff were “running amok and they need to be reined in”. He also described staff as "the anti-car brigade". Two years down the track - and with an election coming up - Phil has paid some engineers to come up with an alternative design. Which would see the traffic lane used for the cycleway being reinstated and the 2.5 metre-wide shared footpath that runs between the road and the Avon River being widened to accommodate cyclists. Personally, I think the idea Phil is pushing is a good one - but I don't like the fact that he's worked around his own council engineers and paid other, private engineers to come up with a new design. I know some people will think he's being a bit of a legend and putting his money where his mouth is. But I don't. Even though I think it would make much more sense to use some of that space between the footpath and the river. The reason I don't like what he's done, is that he is riding roughshod over his transport staff and he's riding roughshod over his council's processes. Because this cycleway is due to be in place for another three years. Some concillors didn't like it at the time. But that's how things ended up. Even though the mayor has spent his own personal money getting these engineers to come up with a different design, it will only happen if he's re-elected. And it's not as if he's going to pay for the work. He says his plan will cost ratepayers about $300,000 and will be done within 100 days if he is still mayor after the election. He also says it depends on him getting a working majority of what he calls like-minded councillors. But just because he can afford to pay the outside engineers to come up with an alternative design - and even though I think the alternative design he's proposing would be much better than the set-up at the moment - I don't like what he's done. He's top dog at the council and he needs to show the council and its staff more respect. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It must be tricky being at school and feeling like you're not doing anything to prepare you for what you actually want to do when you leave. The Government is starting to think about that after this new report from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority which says NCEA is too focused on kids wanting to go to university. The report was prepared for Education Minister Erica Stanford who is promising some big changes. The report says NCEA doesn't do enough to get school students ready to work in the trades and hospitality. It says many students end up doing subjects that aren't relevant to what they want to do when it comes to a career. So could that be fixed, do you think, if students had the option of studying for an NCEA “trades entrance” qualification, similar to the university entrance qualification? Dr Michael Johnston from the NZ Initiative think tank thinks so. And I think so too. The irony is that, when NCEA was first developed, it was all about not being so focused on the academic kids and providing something which gave all students a useful qualification to take with them when they leave school. But, as the qualifications authority is saying to the education minister, that hasn't turned out to be the case for anyone wanting to be builders, or plumbers, or sparkies etc. Which the tertiary education union agrees with and which is backed up by the numbers Dr Michael Johnston from the NZ Initiative has been throwing around. He says 44 percent of school leavers aren't enrolled in tertiary education. And only six percent of them end up in work-based training doing things like trades. From what we're hearing from the NZ Qualifications Authority and the tertiary education union, a big reason for that is that NCEA doesn't do enough for students who either know they want to do a trade or the kids who might end up doing a trade if they learned more about it while at school. And the brilliance of NCEA being expanded to include a trades entrance qualification - as well as the university entrance qualification - would be that, even if someone did leave school with a “trades entrance” certificate, they would still have the option of going to university if they wanted to down the track. Because, once someone turns 20, they can go to uni whether they've got UE or not. Michael Johnston says school students need to be given a much clearer idea of their options. He says: "We just esteem university education much more highly than apprenticeship training for no really good reason. Trades people can earn great money and there's no reason why an arts degree, for example, should be seen as better than an electrical qualification or a plumbing qualification.” Amen to that. Which is why I think his idea of giving high school kids the option of doing NCEA trades or NCEA university entrance is a brilliant idea LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matt Doocey and Duncan Webb joined John MacDonald to give their thoughts on the biggest political stories of the week. Changes are likely coming to NCEA – are they needed? And should trades be given more support in schools? A lawyer is calling for the Government to step in and shut down Gloriavale, but should this be their responsibility? Doocey has launched a petition against a T2 lane – is this an easy hit for votes? And what is the FBI doing in Wellington? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's believed the government has the ability to shut down Gloriavale. The West Coast religious commune's 85-year-old leader Howard Temple is a sex offender, having plead guilty to 12 charges, including indecent assault, mid-way through a trial. The charges relate to offending back to the 1990s. Leavers' lawyer Brian Henry told John MacDonald there are laws that allow the removal of families from harm, and the Corporations Investigation and Management Act. He claims it's now, beyond doubt, a criminal organization of sex offending and there are options to step in, take over assets, and straighten out what's going on. Henry says the Prime Minister needs to knock the heads together of every government department tasked with protecting little girls. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The gangs were right, the Government was wrong. That's one way to interpret the news that, for the first time, the number of people on the national gang list is higher than 10,000. The gangs were right. Because they said right from the outset that the Government could do what it wants but they will never go away. And the numbers don't lie, do they? At the time of the 2023 election, there were 9,270 people on the national gang list. Now there are 10,009 – an increase of more than 700. Which is why, as well as saying the gangs were right, you could also say that the Government was wrong. I think it's too early, but I think we need to change our expectations a little bit. Which I'll come back to. Labour is crowing, of course. But before Ginny Andersen and Chris Hipkins get too carried away, they need to remember that when Labour came to power in 2017 there were 5,343 people on the gang list and by the time the 2023 election came around, that had increased by nearly 4,000. So Police Minister Mark Mitchell —who has been the face of the gang patch ban and all of the other anti-gang initiatives— is correct when he says that the numbers aren't increasing as fast as they were. And he says that slower rate of growth is proof that the Government's tough-on-crime policies are working. The Prime Minister is backing that up, saying the Government is "smashing the gangs". He's saying: "I'm proud of the progress that we've made. Putting the gang patches ban in place – many people said that couldn't be done." Assistant police commissioner Paul Basham is singing from the same songsheet. Saying that because the Government has given the police more power and resources, they've got a better handle on gang numbers and illegal gang activity. Nevertheless, with numbers rising, what should happen next? Do we accept that we're never going to stop gang numbers growing? Do we go harder? Or do we give the Government more time for its crackdown to work? I'm prepared to give the Government a little bit more time. But I think we also need to adjust our expectations and forget about any idea of gang numbers falling dramatically. Because there will always be gangs. But if the police have a better handle on what they're doing and —because of that— those of us not involved in gangs feel safer, then that's a good outcome in my book. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I understand what the Prime Minister is saying about these pay increases for board members at Crown agencies, such as Health NZ and Kāinga Ora, but I'm not buying it. The top payment was $90,000. It's now $160,000. Christopher Luxon says the Government needs to offer higher pay for these board roles so they can attract the best people. But tell that to the 28,000 people who have lost their jobs in the past year. Tell that to the hospital staff striking for more pay. Tell that to the hospital staff who have had a gutsful of staffing levels going south. Tell that to most people in New Zealand, and I think they'll say that the Government couldn't be more tone deaf if it tried. As Labour leader Chris Hipkins is saying, people are struggling to make ends meet and this just shows how out of touch the Government is. To be fair, the Prime Minister is correct when he says that they need to make these roles worth people's while. Because, whether we like it or not, the Crown is competing with the private sector in trying to get the best people. But being correct doesn't always make someone right, and someone needs to tell Christopher Luxon that people don't care what he knows until we know that he cares. There he was again yesterday saying that he understands that people are doing it tough at the moment. He knows. But does he care? The way Public Service Minister Judith Collins puts it is that this is actually a strong move by the Government. Because past governments have been too chicken to pay its board members more, and she says we can't expect these people to work for chickenfeed. I get what Judith Collins is saying too. And I know that, in the scheme of things, it's not as if these increased payments to board members will amount to a massive amount of money. But for me it's all about perception and the message it sends. Yes, people putting their hands up to sit on government boards want to be recognised for their time and effort. But consider how busy the Government has been telling local councils to cut their cloth. Consider how busy the Government's been telling government departments to cut their cloth. Yes, people on government agency boards should be paid what they're worth, but now is not the time for 80% pay increases. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The news today that half of the departments at Christchurch Hospital are operating below full staffing levels doesn't surprise me. In some departments, they are less than 80 percent of what they should be. So, if I'm not surprised, does that mean my expectations of the hospital system are pretty low? The answer to that is “yes”. I expect that the basics are covered and that's about it. That our hospitals are full of brilliant people doing their best, stretched to the limit, covering the basics. The nurses union is describing the staffing situation as “alarming”. One of its delegates has told our newsroom that it constantly feels like they don't have enough staff. And it would be great if they didn't have to move staff around departments to try and cover everything. Health NZ says it gets that. But it's dealing with increased demand (more patients) and it's struggling to hire people. Here are some numbers for you. Child health, oncology and intensive care unit nursing have around 30 full-time equivalent vacancies. With two of those departments having roles vacant for more than a year. But none of that surprises me anymore. Just like I'm not all that surprised by the news that Christchurch Hospital is getting relatives of patients to go in and sit with them and help out where they can. Again - is that because of my low expectations? That I've come to expect that the basics will be covered and that's about it? But here's where Health NZ's sob story about not being able to hire staff starts to wear a bit thin. There are a whole bunch of nursing graduates ready to work, who haven't been hired to work in our hospitals. Fifty-five percent of graduate nurses looking for graduate roles in a hospital have received rejection letters. Many of them for the second time. The mid-year intake has just been finalised - with 722 applying but only 323 getting placements. One of the ones who have received a rejection letter is Melanie McIntyre, of Christchurch. She came back here from Australia in 2019 to begin nursing training. She did a pre-health course in 2021 and started her degree in 2022. She says she thought nursing was a safe career but, three years down the track, she is disheartened and unemployed. After her first rejection, she spent eight months sitting in what they call the national talent pool. Which is, effectively, a waiting list for employers across the health sector looking for entry-level nurses. But that's been a no-goer for Melanie and, since February, she's been volunteering at a charity hospital. She is so disheartened, that she would like to move back to Australia. But she's in her 40s and her kids aren't keen on going back to Australia. So here she is in Christchurch, with a nursing degree, can't get work in a hospital, and is doing volunteer work instead. She says: “It's just so disheartening. I actually struggle to get out of bed because I'm not sure what else to do.” I bet. But I suspect that, what we're seeing here, is the impact of hospitals not having enough senior people to supervise the new nurses on the wards. And, if that's the case, then I don't see things changing anytime soon. If at all. Which is why my expectations of the hospital system are, what you could describe, as pretty low. That it's brilliant for the basics - but that's about it. And only as long as the people doing the doing are prepared to keep going. But how do you rate your expectations of the hospital system? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There will be no shortage of people today thinking that it's a brilliant move by the Government to ditch official guidelines for including transgender people in community sport and leaving it to the sporting organisations themselves to handle it. But I think it's just going to open a can of worms, and these people who think it's great might think differently if they were on the committee of one of their local sporting clubs. Because this is not elite sport we're talking here, this is all about community sport. And, however you might feel about transgender people competing in sport, you've got to admit that having guidelines on how to handle what can be a pretty fraught issue can only be a good thing. Tell that to the Government though. Or, more specifically, tell that to NZ First. Since 2022, sporting organisations and clubs have had these guidelines to work with, which say: “Transgender people can take part in sports in the gender they identify with”. But now sporting organisations and sporting clubs are going to be left to handle it on their own. NZ First wanted these guidelines ditched and, as a result of its coalition deal with National, Sports Minister Mark Mitchell wrote to the head of Sport NZ yesterday telling her to pull the plug on the guidelines. The objective being to ensure that everyone competes on a level playing field and things aren't compromised by gender-based rules. Mark Mitchell says, when it comes to sport, the Government has a role to play in creating sporting opportunities for people, but it's not up to the Government to decide who should be included and how. Which I think is a rather elegant way of describing it. But it ignores the fact that, whether people like it or not, this is something that isn't going to go away. Transgender people wanting to play sport and compete in the categories they want to compete in isn't going to go away. NZ First might not want to hear that. And anyone who thinks that someone born a male, for example, should only be allowed to compete against other males won't want to hear that either. But taking away these guidelines helps no one. Because, surely, something is better than nothing. If you're on the committee at your local rugby club or cricket club, for example, and someone who is transgender signs up to play and, let's say they identify as female but are biologically male, what are you going to do? For the past three years, you would have had these guidelines to refer to. Not that they were explicit rules, but they were guidelines – better than nothing. Now the people on the committees at rugby clubs and cricket clubs and all sporting clubs and organisations up and down the country are going to be flying blind. And with everyone having their own personal views, it's going to be a headache. Mark Mitchell reckons “fair-minded New Zealanders” will be in favour of these changes, which he says are based on safety and fairness. But all we're seeing here is politics and if I was running a sporting organisation or a sporting club, I'd be saying “thanks for nothing” to the Government. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The former frontman of English new-wave band Spandau Ballet, now a solo act, Tony Hadley is popping over to our shores early next year. He's part of the line up for the 2026 Selwyn Sounds, performing alongside the likes of Ronan Keating, When The Cats Away, and Opshop. Hadley joined John MacDonald for a chat about his career, influences, and gave an insight into why Spandau Ballet won't be reuniting any time soon. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Phil Mauger is back on board the climate change bandwagon today – just like he was before the last election. I remember asking him three years ago what he thought the most pressing issue facing Christchurch was and he said climate change. And he's at it again today. So is current city councillor Sara Templeton, who also wants to be the city's next mayor. It won't be any surprise to anyone that Sara rates climate change as a top issue or a top priority. And good on her for saying so, because I agree. I think we've had our heads in the sand for too long. So she's talking today about the need for the city to get on with solid planning for dealing with climate adaptation. Which is easier said than done, of course. Especially with all this talk coming from Wellington about central government washing its hands in terms of helping local communities dealing with things like sea level rise. As for Phil Mauger, I'll believe his commitment to climate change when I see it. He's talking today about wanting to reduce greenhouse gases and is saying that converting trucks and other vehicles to hydrogen will make a difference. But, no disrespect to Phil, anyone can bang-on about that and it probably sounds good. But like I say, the proof's in the pudding. My message is the same for Sara Templeton. But thank goodness they're talking about it because I agree that climate change needs to be a top priority. But it does raise the question as to whether you agree with these two that addressing climate change has to be top of mind. Whether you think addressing climate change is a top priority for Christchurch. We can bang-on about getting the basics done well, but what good is that going to be if we have city leaders who are quite happy to kick the climate change can down the road? So it's full marks from me to both of them for at least putting it out there as a top priority for the city. Especially Sara Templeton, with her view that we need to get on with deciding how Christchurch is going to adapt. But she is bang on because the council already knows that $14 billion worth of property in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula could be at-risk from sea-level rise. That's the figure that came out a couple of years ago when the council made a submission to Parliament's environment select committee. And since then, what's happened? What's been done about it? Next to nothing. The only person around that council table who has said anything of substance since is Sara Templeton herself who, in February last year, floated the idea of a new ratepayer levy to help with the cost of adapting to climate change. Her argument was simple. How can we say it's fair to expect future generations to not only live with the consequences of climate change, but to pay for it as well? To carry the financial burden? As you might expect, that didn't go down too well with a lot of people. Because a lot of us are focused on the here and now and don't give two hoots about what might be on the way. Not to mention the people who don't believe climate change and sea-level rise even exist. What's more, climate change doesn't win elections, does it? Which is why you get people wanting to be mayors and councillors only talking about rates and rubbish and sticking to the basics. Whereas what we really need are city leaders who will get out of the weeds and not worry about the minutiae of every little thing and actually get on with the job of ensuring we are ready. Ready for the day —whenever that day might be— when $14 billion worth of property in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula is more than just at-risk from sea-level rise. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Labour Leader has responded to Luxon's heated comments in response to their jabs about the cost of living. The Opposition has criticised the Government's flagship cost of living policy, raising a red flag over only 153 families getting the maximum credit across all four quarters. Luxon says Labour's crying crocodile tears, and that he's not taking any lectures from "frickin Chris Hipkins" about not supporting working Kiwis. Hipkins told John MacDonald that Luxon is focused on attacking other people and blaming everybody else, rather than speaking up in favour of his own government's track records. “Show me the money” is the Opposition's call over the Government plan for the new Waikato Medical School. It'll get $83 million in taxpayer funding and more than $150 million from the university and investors. The Labour leader told MacDonald we need to train more doctors, but this could take longer than just increasing intakes at existing medical schools. He says the Government should be transparent about this decision. Hipkins says Labour won't stop the project if construction's already under way if it gets into Government. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let's start with the positives in the news that the Government is pressing ahead with a new medical school at Waikato University. 120 new med students every year. You can't argue with that. But that's about it for me. I'm not going to criticise the Government for doing something to get more doctors, because we need them. Especially in rural and regional areas, which look to be the main focus of this new school. But I think it would have been way better for the Government to invest more in the existing medical schools at Otago University and Auckland University. Especially Otago, when you consider all the money that's going into the new hospital down there. I see that Otago University is saying the same sort of thing. But I suppose with former Labour cabinet minister Grant Robertson running the place, it would say that. Auckland University seems to be a bit more diplomatic on it, but both universities have put up the same argument in the past: that, rather than starting something from scratch, it would be better to put the money into training more doctors at the medical schools already up-and-running. The main concern for me though is the finances. The Government is putting-in less money into the Waikato medical school than it said it would, relying instead on the university and its financial backers to make up the shortfall. Before the last election, National campaigned on a $380 million medical school, saying it would spend $280 million, and the university would chip in $100 million. But yesterday the Government announced it would be contributing just over $85 million, and the university would be putting in $150 million with help from its donors. Which has got the opposition parties asking questions too. Green Party tertiary education spokesperson Francisco Hernandez says Treasury has already raised concerns about Waikato University's ability to contribute to the costs. He says: "The Government got advice that approving the Waikato medical school would raise the risk profile of Waikato University from medium to high.” And, like me, he reckons the budget's going to be blown. "The cost estimates have shifted so much, I wouldn't be surprised if there's scope creep down the line and Waikato Uni ends up having to come back to the Government with a begging bowl, because the cost ends-up being more than what they thought it would be." And that's where I see this thing at risk of falling over – either falling over or needing more government money down the track. Because as soon as anyone starts using the “ph” word, I get suspicious. And the government's using the “ph” word. Philanthropists. People with money to donate to causes they believe in. The cathedral in Christchurch – that was going to get truckloads of money from philanthropists, wasn't it? Canterbury Museum – the philanthropists were going to be writing out cheques for that project too, weren't they? And, as someone with a bit of experience in universities and philanthropy, I can tell you that getting money out of people is way easier said than done. Although —not wanting to be a complete downer— I've always said that, post-covid especially, philanthropists are much more likely to put money into things that help people, as opposed to just building something for the sake of it. But raising money this way is a long haul. And anyone being asked to contribute will want to see a business case. They'll want to see who else is on board. And that won't happen overnight. And I bet you that all the high rollers that the university might approach will look at the Government's reduced investment and ask how committed it really is. But here's my prediction: It won't be long before the university is knocking on the Government's door, saying it needs more taxpayer money. And at that point, we'll all accept that investing more in our existing medical schools is a way better option. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm going to start by quoting someone I've quoted before - Dr Nicola Day, who is a plant ecologist at Victoria University in Wellington. Knowing a thing or two about plants means she knows a thing or two about pine trees. And here's how she describes them: “Pines are one of the most flammable plants on the planet." I referred to the same quote last year when the Government turned down a request to change the forestry rules, so that pine forests couldn't be re-planted after the big Port Hills fire in February last year. The second big fire within seven years. And I thought of those comments again at the weekend when it was confirmed that the Christchurch Adventure Park is going to be re-planted in pine trees on land near a new housing development, which will eventually have 430 homes on it. Which I think is nuts. The owner of the adventure park land, John McVicar - who re-planted pines there after the first fire - knows some people will think it's madness planting them again But he says arson is the problem - not the highly-flammable trees themselves. Credit where credit's due - from what I've seen reported, it seems he has looked into the idea of re-planting in natives which, of course, are less flammable than pine trees. But he's saying that natives wouldn't have worked and, what's more, he's saying that the highly-flammable pines themselves aren't the problem - it's people lighting fires who are the problem. In 2017, there were two simultaneous fires and one of them is thought to have been deliberately lit. And there are strong suspicions that last year's fire was deliberately lit too. I appreciate that the adventure park is on private land and John McVicar can do what he wants with it. But when I heard about the pines going back in and then heard about sections in this new housing development near the bike park selling like hot cakes, and how eventually there'll be 430 new homes there, I wondered whether we've learned anything from those two big fires. John McVicar is the forest owner and he's saying that, yes, he gets it that some people will think it's madness that he's planting pines again - especially after he re-planted them after the first fire in 2017, only to lose them after the second fire seven years later. But he's comfortable that he's done enough looking into alternatives and he's pressing-on with planting the pines this winter. He says he's had experts look into the idea of planting native trees - which don't go up in flames at the rate pine trees do - but they found that the site was dry and windswept with rabbits and goats and, for native trees to survive, they would need years of intensive care. He says leaving the land as it is isn't an option, either. Because weeds would take off and the experience of mountain biking in a forest would be gone. All of that said - have not we not learnt anything from those fires? Especially the first one. Have we forgotten about the site of those trees going up in smoke? I haven't. Just like the Christchurch City Council, the Selwyn District Council and ECAN haven't forgotten. Because, last year, they went to the Government wanting help to stop pines being re-planted in the areas where the fires were. Because the forestry rules, as they stand, allow anyone who has existing rights to have a forestry plantation to replace it like-for-like if it's damaged or destroyed by fire. The adventure park is a case in point. After 2017, the pines were re-planted there because the landowner had an existing right to plant them. There was nothing that could be done to stop that. This is what these local councils wanted to change. And, because the Government didn't want to change the rules, we're stuck with the laws as they stand. Which means the pines are going back. In my view, what makes this worse than the time they were replaced after the first fire, is that we know there are, eventually, going to be 400-plus more houses near the adventure park. And that's why I think this is so wrong. The land owner himself knows that some people will think it's madness too. But how do you feel about it? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Education Minister Erica Stanford is my politician of the day for announcing that the Government isn't going to be building any more of those terrible open-plan classrooms. But she'll be my politician of the year if she goes further than that and finds money to put some walls and doors in the modern learning environment monstrosities that already exist. In fact, I think the Government is morally obliged to help any state school that wants to get rid of their open-plan classrooms. It's morally obliged because this disastrous experiment was forced on the schools. And it will cost a truckload of money but it's the only option, in my mind. Unless, of course, there are schools that are perfectly happy teaching kids in barns. They can fill their boots. But I bet there are a truckload of schools looking at this announcement and thinking “what about us?” The way Erica Stanford puts it is that she's had overwhelming feedback that open-plan classrooms aren't meeting the needs of students. She says: “While open-plan designs were originally intended to foster collaboration, they have often created challenges for schools, particularly around noise and managing student behaviour.” Which is a polite way of saying that it was a hair-brained idea that shouldn't have seen the light of day. And to Erica Stanford and the Government's credit, they're not building any more. Which Rangiora High School principal Bruce Kearney says is great, but he wants to know about all the schools that have already been lumbered with open-plan classrooms. Some of which have had a gutsful and have spent a lot of their own money turning the barns into old-school classrooms. Rangiora High School is one of them. They spent $1.5 million. Shirley Boys' High School in Christchurch spent $800,00. And Avonside Girls' spent $60,000 on screens and acoustic panels because a full fit-out was going to be too expensive for the school to pay for on its own. Avonside principal Catherine Law says she is “thrilled” to see the move away from open-plan because it's done nothing for students having a sense of belonging, and it had a really detrimental effect on teaching and learning. She says year 9 and year 10 kids —the old third formers and fourth formers— are the ones who seem to struggle the most, because they're the ones getting used to high school. She says those years especially are the worst times for kids to be expected to try and work in open-plan areas. She says there's a lot of anxiety with the kids not knowing where they sit and where they belong. And she thinks that any school that wants to get rid of the open-plan set-up should get funding to do it. If the experience at Rangiora High is anything to go by, why wouldn't the Government spend some money fixing up this shambles? Since Rangiora put in the walls and doors, attendance is up by 12%. Which principal Bruce Kearney puts down to “happier teachers, happier kids, and a happier school”. And he is in no doubt that the Government needs to stump up with the money so all schools that want to benefit from this brilliant move by Erica Stanford, can. I'm going further than that though. I think the government is morally obliged to do it. Because even though it wasn't this particular government that forced modern learning environments on schools, it was still the government-of-the-day. The current administration is now admitting that the experiment has failed. So there is no way it can say that but still expect kids already being taught in these battery farms to put up with it. And there's no way it can admit it was a cock-up and expect teachers to keep teaching in these places. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones says we live in uncertain times and, because of that, we need to crank up the Marsden Point oil refinery again. I agree that we live in uncertain times, but I certainly don't agree that we should pour time and money into something which has had its day. Shane Jones isn't the only person talking about it though. The Prime Minister has said too that the Government is considering reopening Marsden Point as part of its plan to strengthen the country's fuel and energy security. Because, since it was closed in April 2022, we've been importing all our refined fuel. We've also been importing all the bitumen we need for roads as well since the refinery closed. Before then, 70% of the bitumen used in New Zealand for roads was produced at Marsden Point, with 30% imported. Now 100% is imported. But let's not forget some of the nonsense that gets trotted-out about the old refinery. Which, once you cut through and dismiss, shows just how crazy it would be to try and get it up and running again. First up: it wasn't the previous Labour government that shut it down – the Associate Energy Minister was trotting out that line again this morning. It was actually shut down by the private company which owned it back in 2022. The company was known as Refining NZ, these days it's known as Channel Infrastructure. I think the Government needs to drop this idea of looking into reopening it. Because if the people who know a thing-or-two about running a refinery think it's a stupid idea, then who am I going to listen to? The people who know what they're on about? Of course I am. We all should, including the Government. Because all this is, is another one of those desperado elements of the coalition agreement between National and NZ First. Shane Jones is from the north and he's just doing what any MP would do for their region. And, before he continues with all this bluster about geopolitical clouds casting doubt on our future fuel supply, he should listen to what Refinery NZ said a year after shutting down the refinery. They said it would cost billions to reinstate and take at least a couple of years to do it. So why would you? Especially, when you consider who might run the thing. Because if the private outfit that used to run it wanted out, I don't see anyone else putting their hand up to take over. What's more, generating electricity is the future. Refining oil isn't. Even one of the union people who fought against the closure thinks we'd be flogging a dead horse trying to reopen it. Justin Wallace is First Union's oil and gas co-ordinator and he's on record as saying that it would be unrealistic to expect the refinery to be cranked into action again. He has said that although the footprint of the refinery is still there, the company that shut it down dismantled its key components as soon as they were able, and 80-90% of the staff who had worked at the refinery have left. He says: “They've gone overseas, taken redundancy, or retired. Unless the Government is willing to tax more people to find more money to rebuild it, I think it's a pipe dream.” Can someone please pass that on to Shane Jones? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How about this for an idea? Instead of the tax people pay on the first $60,000 of their income going to the government, what if it went into a savings account to pay for healthcare and put food on the table when they retire? It's an idea being pushed by former finance minister Sir Roger Douglas and University of Auckland economics professor Robert MacCulloch which, they say, is needed because of the ageing population. They reckon people could save as much as $21,000 a year, with some of the money going into a health account, some going into a superannuation account, and the rest going into a “rainy day” account. There are some bits about this that really I like, and I'm not so sure about other aspects. The thing I like most is that —for pretty much the first-time ever— we would have tax money ringfenced for specific things. Whether we can describe it as tax money I'm not sure, because it would be money not going to the government but going into these individual bank accounts instead. But we'll call it tax money. Sir Roger and Professor MacCulloch have done the numbers and they reckon that —if the government didn't get its hands on the tax money from the first $60,000 of everyone's income— on average, people would end up with just over $20,000 in their account each year. Breaking that down, they say we'd have about $9,500 going into the health bucket, just under $7,400 going into the superannuation bucket, and $4,200 going into the “rainy day” bucket. That's each year – providing you're working, of course. So I like it for the ring-fencing and how we would know exactly how much we have up our sleeve. And if you do the numbers over the course of someone's total working life —that's assuming that they start work at 20 and stop working at 65— the average person that Sir Roger is basing his numbers on could have about $950,000 in their account. That's without interest being factored in. So they could retire with more than $1 million in the bank to pay for healthcare and to live off. And if you're thinking we've got KiwiSaver, so why would we need this extra savings account? If you're thinking that, chances are you're well-off enough to afford KiwiSaver. Because Professor MacCulloch is saying today that many low-income earners just can't afford KiwiSaver and they would benefit big-time if most of their tax actually went into a savings account. Which makes sense to me. Dig a little deeper though and Sir Roger Douglas' old ACT Party ideals start to come through, with him saying today that this approach would give people the freedom to choose whether they get medical treatment, for example, in the public sector or the private sector. But what if every Tom, Dick, and Harry had all this money and decided to get their hips done privately? That would be boom times for the private hospitals, but what would it mean for the public hospitals? Possibly less government investment. And what if a model like this was adopted and we had politicians down the track letting people use the money in these dedicated accounts to pay for first-home deposits and all that carry-on? Which has happened with KiwiSaver. Sir Roger says he's been banging on for ages about what he and Professor MacCulloch are calling an “economic car crash”. They say governments over the years have chosen to ignore the looming health and welfare crisis that we're heading into, if we haven't reached that point already. At the root of it is the ageing population. And they're saying today that we just can't keep on keeping on the way we have and the way we are. And I agree with them. Which is why —even though I've got some misgivings about the impact this could have on things like government investment in the healthcare system— overall, I think it's a brilliant idea. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We can safely say that someone who rides their motorbike at 110 kph in a 50 kph area is a threat. We can also safely say that someone who rides their motorbike at 110 kph in a 50 kph area and runs a red light is a danger. We can also safely say that someone who rides their motorbike at 110 kph in a 50 kph area, runs a red light and kills two pedestrians is a menace. This is a real-life story. And, upfront, I'm going to say that the person responsible is someone who should never be allowed to ride a motorbike or drive a car again. But under current laws, he can. And he is going to be allowed to. The person I'm talking about is Mark Kimber. And, in July 2022, he was doing exactly what I've just described. On Friday, he was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for the manslaughter of Karen and Geoffrey Boucher. And when he gets out of prison, his licence will be taken off him for three years. The Bouchers had been out for dinner at a restaurant in Bethlehem, about 8 kilometres from Tauranga, and were crossing the road when they were killed by this guy. Both of them died at the scene. But here's where it gets worse. If it could. Before the crash, he had 11 prior convictions for bad driving. These included careless driving, speeding, drink-driving, dangerous driving, failing to stop and driving while suspended. He also had 70 driving infringements on his record. What's more, in the time between the fatal crash and his appearance in court, he was done for speeding twice. Which tells me that this guy has proven that he will never change and he should never be allowed to have a driver's licence again. Tell that to the sentencing judge, though. Who seemed to think that this guy's childhood needed to be taken into account when she was sentencing him for the manslaughter of this innocent couple. I'm not going to get too bogged down on that side of it. Because it's the fact that this judge thinks losing his licence for three years is a tough enough penalty. At the moment, someone in New Zealand can lose their licence indefinitely and can only get it back if they've proved that they've done something about their drinking or drug-taking. But I don‘t think this guy should ever be allowed to drive again. Because he has shown time and time again that he doesn't give a stuff about anyone else on the road. If anything, it's the two speeding offences he committed between the time of the crash and his day in court that ram it home for me. When someone kills two people like this guy did, you would think that they might be a bit more cautious on the road. Especially, knowing that're going to be hauled through the court for it. But Mark Kimber didn't take his foot of the pedal. And it's my view that people like him need to be kept off our roads for good. And, instead of “indefinite disqualification” being the strongest punishment we hand out to repeat offenders like him, we should be taking their driver's licences off them for good. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Not as straightforward as it sounds. That's pretty much the message coming through loud and clear in this new report which says importing liquified natural gas to make up for our dwindling local supplies is do-able. But. You'll remember how, last year, when we had factories closing and people paying through the nose for their electricity, talk turned to what could be done, especially given we are at-risk of not having the gas needed to generate power. So the Government brought up the idea of importing liquified natural gas. Fast-forward a few months and four of the big companies have put their heads together, looking into the practicalities of importing gas. The outcome is this report out today effectively saying we could do it, but there are a few things to think about. The main ones being the price tag and how long it would take to get it happening. First up, the cost. Up to $1 billion. That's to get the infrastructure needed so that we can bring the gas in and store it. It could be done cheaper, but the gas would be 25% more expensive. Secondly, if we're up for that kind of spend, it wouldn't be an overnight fix. It would be about four years before we started to see the benefits. Another main point in this report is that we could spend the money and wait for it all to come online, but there could be years when we don't even need the extra gas. That's because power generation in New Zealand uses a combination of hydro, gas, and wind. And in the years when we have plenty of rain and the hydro lakes are full, for example, we might not need to import gas. So we could go down the route of spending all this money over the next four years —setting ourselves up— and the demand for gas that we might have now not being the same down the track. But that's a bit like pouring money into a fire alarm and sprinkler system and not using it, you know it's there and give it gives you security. That's how I see this gas importation business – it would be a back-up. And so-what if it wasn't needed all the time? The question facing us now is what do we do now that we have a better idea about the complexities and the cost? Paul Goodeve, chief executive of the Clarus energy company, thinks we need to ask ourselves whether it's worth doing without getting obsessed about the cost. Because as I said earlier, it could be done cheaper —at around $200 million— but that would mean the gas would be 25% more expensive. I'm no doubt that we have to bite the bullet and press go, and press go on the expensive option. Because if you or I, or the Greens or whoever, think that this is nuts and we shouldn't be importing gas and we should all have solar panels on the roof, that's la-la land. If you listen to the likes of Greenpeace, they'll say that importing gas shouldn't even be an option and we should be going full-bore with solar and wind power generation. Again, la-la land. Because the reality is, we need a mix of generation options. And even though it looks like importing liquified gas might not be as straightforward as we might have thought when the government started talking about it last year, what are the alternatives? Crossing our fingers and hoping for the best? No thanks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you think the Government and councils would be “morally bankrupt” if they stopped paying people out when their properties are so flood-damaged that they can't live there anymore? And would you feel the same about people living in areas at risk of flooding being forced to pay more for flood schemes and sea walls because they're the ones who benefit most? That's what a panel of experts is recommending to the Government. But a climate policy expert is saying that would be, you guessed it, “morally bankrupt”. And I agree. What's more, I think this approach would let councils off the hook for allowing places to be built in crazy, at-risk locations. What's happened, is an independent reference group set up by the Ministry for the Environment has come up with a list of recommendations to help the Government work on some climate adaptation legislation. Adaptation being what you do when something like climate change and sea-level rise threatens to take-out an area. This group is made up of economists, people from the banking and insurance sectors, local government and iwi. So a wide range of people. And if I there's an overarching theme to their advice, it would be this: “You're on your own buddy.” And instead of looking to the councils and governments for hand-outs and direction, people should have to decide for themselves if they're going to stay living where they are. And if their properties get flooded and there's no way they can keep on living there, then they shouldn't expect their local council or Wellington to buy them out. Talk about hardcore. Talk about morally bankrupt. This group of experts isn't stopping there, either. It's also saying that, if you live in an area where there is a risk of flooding and things like sea walls and flood schemes are needed, then you and your neighbours should pay more for those things because you're the ones who benefit the most. So, if we apply that to some of the things that have happened here in Canterbury, that would mean people in the Flockton Basin area in Christchurch, paying more for the privilege of living somewhere that used to flood at the drop of a hat. Remember that? And how the council poured truckloads of money into a pumping system that stopped the water overflowing in the Dudley Creek area and flooding the streets and houses? The Christchurch City Council spent $49 million on a flood mitigation scheme in Flockton Basin. Elsewhere in town, it spent about $70 million to deal with flooding issues along the Heathcote River. That included buying-out people's houses. Some friends of mine had their place bought out as part of that scheme. But under these recommendations to the Government, the people in Flockton Basin would be expected to pay more than the rest of us because they're the ones who are benefiting directly from their streets and houses not flooding anymore. Also under these recommendations, my mates wouldn't have their house bought out by the council – even though they can't live there anymore because it keeps flooding I would hate to see us take this approach. Which is why agree with climate policy expert, Emeritus Professor Jonathan Boston from Victoria University, who is saying today that leaving people high and not necessarily dry like this would be “morally bankrupt”. He says: "One of the core responsibilities of any government is to protect its citizens and to deal with natural disasters and so on. That is above almost anything else." He's also criticising this group's recommendation that any changes be phased-in within the next 20 years, saying that the risks and impacts of climate change are going to continue evolving beyond this 20-year deadline. He says to put an end-date on it is "Morally bankrupt and highly undesirable". And, as I say, it would let councils off-the-hook. Because for me, if a council gives consent for something to built somewhere, then that same council needs to carry the can if it turns out that that something is somewhere it shouldn't be. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour leader and former Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins thinks phase two of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Covid-19 response is a platform for conspiracy theorists, and he is non-committal about turning-up to give evidence. The most committed I've heard him so far is saying that he's working on some written responses. But if that turns out to be the extent of his involvement, then he can forget about being prime minister again. Because let me remind you of a couple of things. While it was the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who, generally, fronted the Government's Covid response. It was Hipkins —as Covid Minister— who drove it behind the scenes. Secondly, if it was good enough for former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to front up in person to the UK's Covid inquiry, then it is more than good enough for Chris Hipkins to front up in person to our inquiry. In December 2023, Boris Johnson spent two days being grilled by the committee of MPs, which had the job of looking into how his government handled the pandemic. This is the guy who told people they had to isolate at home and then had parties at 10 Downing Street. This is the guy who disappeared to his country house when Covid was running rampant. This is the guy who, somehow, lost 5,000 WhatsApp messages from his phone, which couldn't be used as evidence at the inquiry. This is the same guy who told the UK inquiry that he was the victim of not being properly informed about the seriousness of Covid. Boris Johnson is the guy who is widely considered to have cocked-up the response in Britain but who, despite all that, fronted-up to take questions and take the heat over two days. And it wasn't pleasant for him. He was grilled. But say what you like about Boris Johnson, at least he fronted up. From what I've seen, at no point did Boris Johnson dismiss the inquiry in Britain as a platform for conspiracy theorists. At no point did Boris Johnson bang-on about the Covid inquiry in Britain creating an opportunity for theatrics from conspiracy theorists. And, at no point, did Boris Johnson hide behind written responses and weasel words. But that is exactly what Chris Hipkins is doing. He says he wants to be “cooperative” but “I don't want to see a whole lot of theatrics. I'm very interested in engaging with them on how we can capture the lessons”. To be fair, Hipkins probably does have a point about the time period covered by phase two of the inquiry and how it, conveniently, leaves out the time NZ First was in coalition with Labour, but he needs to get over that. Just like he needs to get over the fact that, yes, there will be no shortage of conspiracy theorists turning up at the inquiry. But so what? It's a free world. And we can decide for ourselves how much credence we want to give them. But Chris Hipkins shouldn't be free to decide for himself whether he fronts up in person at the Covid inquiry, or not. He was Covid Minister and he has to front. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Hipkins is doubling down on saying the Covid Response Inquiry's terms seems to provide a platform for conspiracy views. The Labour leader also said the second phase —that began this week— excludes looking at any decisions made when NZ First was in Government. Hipkins told John MacDonald opinions from the likes of Brian Tamaki and Liz Gunn deserve to be heard but shouldn't overshadow submission on other experiences. He says if the Government's genuine in wanting all voices heard, it's important for it not to be dominated by a few people. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Isn't it funny how the Government likes to talk about government support needing to be based on need, but seems to forget about all that when it comes to those nice middle-class people. Of which I am one. I'm not claiming to be nice, but I am what you would call middle-class. Which makes me fully qualified to ask why a family bringing in $229,000 a year should get taxpayer support to pay for their kids' early childhood education. It also makes me highly qualified to answer that question, and to say that a family earning that amount of money doesn't need or deserve that level of taxpayer support. The Government has expanded its FamilyBoost scheme, which is all about letting parents claim back some of the money they pay early childhood centres. The Government's done it because not as many people were taking advantage of the scheme as it had expected and which Finance Minister Nicola Willis had budgeted for. Before yesterday's announcement, families earning up to $180,000 a year were eligible to claim back 25% of their early childhood fees. Now families earning as much as $229,000 will be able to claim back 40% of their early childhood fees and I find it impossible to see how that can be justified. Granted, I'm looking at this through the eyes of someone who had kids going through the early childhood system 15-to-20 years ago. I'm also looking at it through the eyes of someone in Canterbury as opposed to somewhere like Auckland. Nevertheless, I still don't see why or how the Government thinks a couple earning that amount of money —way more than 200k a year— needs financial support. I saw some parents on the news last night at the centre in Wellington where Nicola Willis turned up to make the announcement yesterday, and they were all for it. But, of course they would be. I can say that because I know how, when you've got pre-school kids, you're still getting over the hit it has on the finances. You might be down to one parent working – that's if there are two of you. You've possibly got a decent-sized mortgage. Or you're paying rent. So, of course, you're going to think you need a leg-up wherever you can get it. But what parents of very young kids don't tend to think about is that it doesn't get any cheaper. In fact, it gets more expensive the older the kids get. Which brings me my other criticism of this expansion of the FamilyBoost scheme: what about the parents of older kids? What about the parents who have got kids at high school and have to come up with money for all sorts of things, such as uniforms, sports trips, music trips, laptops. You name it. Not that I'm saying that every parent with kids at the high school stage deserve the kind of carte-blanche handout the Government's giving parents who have got kids going to pre-school. But it highlights further how expanding the FamilyBoost scheme just doesn't make sense. And I think the opposition parties can be accused of tiptoeing around the issue. Especially Labour, which is banging on about the Government's changes yesterday to the FamilyBoost programme being “desperate”. Megan Woods is Labour's acting finance spokesperson and she's saying today that the Government is scrambling to help families dealing with the cost-of-living crisis. She's saying: "If Nicola Willis truly understood the cost-of-living crisis, then she'd have acted a long time ago." But what Megan Woods should be doing is ripping into the Government for thinking that families earning just on $230,000-a-year need government support to pay for their kids to go to pre-school. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government wants to free-up the laws relating to citizens' arrests. But should this include letting retail staff detain children and young people caught shoplifting? The Chief Children's Commissioner, Dr Claire Achmad, is saying today that it shouldn't. And I agree with her. But not for the same reason. She says allowing shop owners and shop staff to detain young people would contravene the right of children to be free from violence. She says that right applies to kids anywhere and everywhere - including in shops and retail outlets. Even when they're nicking stuff. Dr Achmad says shop staff have every right to ask for stolen stuff to be handed over. But it wouldn't be fair on the young offenders if the people in the shops also had the right to detain them. And I agree with her. But not for the same reason. Overall, I'm 50/50 on this idea of citizens arrests. At the moment, there are limitations on when and where they can be done. But the Government wants to loosen those limitations. And isn't ruling out loosening them to the point where shopkeepers could detain kids stealing stuff. When I say I'm 50/50, I'm all for security guards getting stronger powers to detain people. Providing they get the right training. But as for the rest of us. Forget about it. As for shopkeepers arresting young people. Forget about it. Because it's got danger written all over it. Danger from over-enthusiastic vigilantes going overboard. And danger for the people taking these young crims on. Which is why I don't want to see people in shops being given the green light to arrest or detain kids and young people stealing their stuff. That's where I differ from the Chief Children's Commissioner. She's opposed because of the kids' right to be protected from violence. I'm opposed because of the danger to retailers who, collectively, lose about $2.5 billion every year through retail crime. I detest shoplifting just as much as the next person. But if we give shop owners and shop workers the power to make citizens arrests of kids and young people caught stealing their stuff any time, any place - what do you think will happen? It would mean unfair pressure being placed on, often young, retail workers to intervene and put themselves at risk. I know some retailers would tell their staff either not to intervene or only do so if they felt confident enough to. But there would also be some employers who would see a law change as a licence to require their staff to intervene. And, as we've seen countless times, just because someone is 11, 12 or 13, it doesn't make them any less of a risk or less or a danger. There are kids who carry weapons. There are kids who have no regard for other people and who are quite prepared to use these weapons. Do we really want shop staff being given the powers to take these kids on and to try and arrest them? Of course we don't. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I didn't do any study after I left school —no university, no polytech— so I've never had a student loan. I know about debt though, thanks to the mortgage. And I reckon it would be very easy for me, as someone who has never had to pay off a student loan but who knows what it's like to have the responsibilities of a mortgage, to dismiss what a former IRD prosecutor is saying today. A former IRD prosecutor who says we need to go a bit easy on New Zealanders living overseas who are way behind in their student loan payments and are too scared to set foot here because they think they'll be arrested at the border. Dave Ananth is a tax barrister who has done work for IRD in the past. He says it's crazy that, at a time when we want and need skilled people working here, we are so hardcore with these people that they're just not coming back. Because they're too scared to come back. And I agree with him. Which kind of surprises me because I'm normally big on people not shying away from responsibilities and all that. But when you consider some real-life examples, I reckon it's very easy to appreciate the argument for change. Dave Ananth is saying it's all very well going overseas, but that doesn't mean people walk into well-paying jobs. The grass doesn't always turn out to be greener. So what he's calling for IRD to be lenient enough so that these Kiwis aren't scared of coming back. He says a bit of leeway would go a long way. One approach he thinks could work is IRD talking to these people and seeing if they could apply for some grace on the basis of hardship. Or agree to letting them come back, pay a few hundred dollars for a start and see how it goes. And I don't see anything wrong with that. Because what would you rather have? These people stuck overseas owing all this money? Or would you rather they were here making a genuine contribution to the country? It's a no-brainer. As this tax lawyer says, if nothing changes, it probably means some of these people never setting foot in New Zealand because they could potentially be arrested. Kiwis who have expertise in the likes of engineering and technology. There are medical people he says would be here if they didn't have the threat of arrest hanging over them. And he's giving some real-life examples to back up his argument. Such as a New Zealander living in Australia whose loan has blown-out to $170,000, mostly because of interest. Back in 2014, this guy completed his pilot training but couldn't find any flying work here, so he went over to Australia and worked as a commercial pilot for six years. Things got tricky for him when Covid hit, there was no more flying for him, and he had to take a low-paying job in a storage warehouse. Which meant he got way behind in his loan payments. Then there's the case of a woman living in the United States. Her debt has blown-out to $70,000 —$55,000 of that from interest— and she isn't coming home to see her sick mother because she's terrified she's going to be arrested at the border. As she says: "I've been petrified something's going to happen to my mum and she's going to pass away and I'm not even going to be able to go there." I was talking to someone this morning who said they went overseas for just a year, and it cost them $1,000. So there is no shortage of stories that show how this system just isn't doing anyone any favours. It's not doing the people with the student loans living overseas any favours and it's not doing the rest of us any favours. Because these people have the skills and expertise we are crying out for. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on Politics Friday, John MacDonald was joined by National's Vanessa Weenink and Labour's Reuben Davidson to break down the biggest issues of the week. They discussed student loan repayments – is there something that can be done to bring overseas loan holders back to New Zealand? Global companies like Uber are paying minimal tax over here – are we being ripped off? And ACC is planning to be more scrupulous when paying claims due to pressure from the Government to run a tighter ship. How will this play out? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When there's an election campaign happening, how much do you care about the cost of the policies the political parties are pushing? Or, more to the point, how willing are you to trust the politicians when they say they've done the numbers, and they all stack up? My willingness to trust them is very low. Which is why I think we will be all the poorer for ACT and NZ First voting down the plan for a publicly-funded outfit that would have done the numbers and worked out the actual cost of election policies. Because until now, all we've been able to do is take the politicians on their word. And it's going to stay that way. Not that the concept of a separate costing agency is an overnight thing or a new thing. The idea has been around since 2016, when Green MP Metiria Turei first raised it. In fact, what she wanted —and what the Labour Party wanted too— was broader than what Finance Minister Nicola Willis eventually proposed to Cabinet. But which is now history thanks to the two minor coalition parties. Nicola Willis' version would have made the government of the day's financial information available to political parties when they were putting their policies together. But even that watered-down version was too much for ACT and NZ First, with David Seymour saying that it isn't warranted, because he doesn't think it would stop messy election-year debates about how party policies might be paid for. But it raises the question about election promises and whether us voters are still sucked in by the political promises on their own, or whether we are more discerning and whether we think it would be good to have more transparency. More scrutiny. I want more scrutiny. Because without it, all we have to go on is gut instinct. Or the believability of politicians. All politicians of all stripes and colours I'm talking about here – all we can do is take them on their word. Before I hold up National's tax cuts as an example of why we need a publicly-funded agency to go through political policies with a fine-tooth comb, let me remind of you of that daft idea Labour had before the last election of taking GST off fruit and vegetables. At first blush, it might have sounded like a good idea. But I wasn't sold. I don't think many of us were, because we had no idea how effective it would be. Not just from the perspective of whether it would actually make fruit and veggies more affordable, but also what it could mean for government coffers. Grant Robertson always poo-pooed the idea but then, somehow magically, came around to the idea just before the election. And there he was, telling us that he'd done the numbers and he'd realised that, actually, it would have all stacked up financially and we'd all have kiwifruit and broccoli coming out of our ears. But without the proof, it was all hot air. Same thing with National's tax cuts. We were told it was going to mean more money in our pockets, but not a lot was said about how out-of-pocket the Government might be because of it, and what that would mean down the track. And what happened? The tax cuts went ahead, and government revenue dropped. That foreign buyers tax was another one. The only expert analysis we had to rely on was what all the so-called “independent experts” roped-in by all the parties had to say about the policies they were roped-in to comment on. And all that did was create all the usual noise and confusion and we were back to voting on gut instinct because who knew what the hell to make of what was being said left, right and centre? How different things would be if all of these brilliant vote-catching ideas were put through the wringer by an independent, publicly-funded agency. How better informed we would all be. And how careful the politicians would be about selling us snakeoil policies that we only end up regretting falling for. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions over Christchurch City Council planning to spend $200 thousand on a shuttle bus study. Environment Canterbury wants to stop the proposed resurrection of a free inner-city shuttle, saying 1800 bus movements each weekday is enough. A 2023 law change means ECan will get the final say. Mayor Phil Mauger admits he voted for the costly study. But he told John MacDonald ECan didn't mention anything until it was included in the annual plan. He says there's no use spending the money if it doesn't get the green light, so council should re-think the idea. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Having sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, legendary English rock band 10CC is celebrating their anniversary in style, their world tour bringing them to New Zealand's shores. They'll be hitting up Christchurch on the 10th of July, performing at the Isaac Theatre Royal. Co-lead singer and base player Graham Gouldman joined John MacDonald for a chat about life in the band, as well as reflecting on his growing appreciation for the songs. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government has obviously decided that its law and order week. It started with tougher sentences for people who attack first responders and prison officers – which is a good thing. Then it was tougher sentences for people who dish out coward punches – that can't come soon enough. And the latest are these tougher measures to try and do something about the rate of shoplifting. Again, something I've got no argument against. But here's where the seed of doubt starts to emerge. When it comes to crime, pretty much the only thing governments can do is make sure there are laws in place to try and deal with it adequately. The last government was accused of being easy-osey on crime. The previous Police Commissioner was accused of being the same. Then, National especially, promised things would be different under its watch, which is why we're seeing all these announcements this week. But where the rubber hits the road is what is actually done to catch the criminals —that's where the police come into it— and, once they are caught, what punishments are actually handed out to them. Which is where the justice system comes into it. And those two areas are where I see the Government's good intentions struggling. Because you ask anyone and they'll tell you that the cops are struggling to keep on top of things as it is. Even with a change in Police Commissioner —with the new guy seeming to be much more up the Government's street than the last guy— the police are still struggling to cope with their workload, aren't they? That's not a criticism of the police, it's just how things are. So that's one stumbling block. The other one is the justice system. How confident are you that, even when these criminals do make it to court, the judges they appear before aren't going to be unswayed by the usual talk about hard upbringings and misfortune and “poor decision-making”? In some respects, I see that as more of a problem than the lack of police resources. And when I say the justice system, I'm not just talking about the judges, I'm also talking about the people who represent these criminals. Because I think there is a systemic issue within the justice system that has taken years to develop and which, I believe, will take years to change. Where the lawyers fight for minimum sentences and where the judges often, it seems, fall for it. Which is why people are asking why the Government isn't requiring minimum sentences for shoplifting, coward punches, and attacks on first responders and corrections staff. It's setting higher maximum sentences, but no minimum sentences. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said on Newstalk ZB today that the Government might look at minimum sentences, but not for now. Despite the precedent that has been set with some of the ridiculously low sentences we've seen in our courts in recent times. Which is why, although I'm pleased the Government is doing what it's doing, I have serious doubts that the police and the justice system will deliver what the Government wants. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I don't like this idea David Seymour's pushing of privatising the Interislander ferry service and getting a private operator to run it, instead of KiwiRail. And if I was to sum up why I'm opposed to it as succinctly as I could, it would come down to just two words and one number. State Highway 1. Tell that to the ACT leader and Deputy Prime Minister, though. He's saying the Government doesn't need to own the ferries and that it would make sense for the Government to get its money out of the ferry business and use it to pay off debt or build things like roads. He reckons that history shows that governments are the worst at running businesses, and reckons private operators would do a much better job of owning and operating the ferries. But I think that would be too much of a gamble when you consider that Cook Strait isn't just a stretch of water, it's actually part of State Highway 1. And I wouldn't be happy having two private operators being responsible for getting us across that stretch of it. Because with private operators, they're only in it if there's a buck to be made. Which I don't have a problem with, but we already have one private operator running services on Cook Strait – would you really want to see that become two private operators? Two private operators who would have every right to pull the pin if they decided it wasn't worth their while continuing? Or what if one of them went under? Would you really be happy with one private operator having a monopoly on Cook Strait? Besides which, this talk of privatising the Interislander is just letting KiwiRail off the hook. You ask people in the street, and most will probably tell you that the Interislander service is pretty unreliable. That may or may not be 100 percent true, but I'm certainly not going to say KiwiRail is doing a brilliant job with the ferries. However, instead of talking about selling off the ferries and giving the job to someone else, the Government should be telling KiwiRail to pull its socks up instead. Because the service it provides between Picton and Wellington is an essential service that needs to stay in the Government's hands. I wouldn't even be up for partial privatisation like Air New Zealand, for example. Someone I was talking to was saying that they thought Air New Zealand was a great advertisement for partial privatisation. Saying that even though quite a few people have a beef with the airline in terms of its fares and where it does and doesn't fly to, you can't argue that the airline is a very well-run business. But that still isn't enough to convince me that it would be a good idea for the Government to wash its hands of the Interislander ferry service. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government's plan for tougher sentences for people who don't think twice about assaulting first responders and corrections officers is great. But I think there are some other people who should be included. Doctors and nurses. These are the people who, it seems, can be at just as much risk of being attacked. It's brilliant that the Government has got the ambulance paramedics in their thinking. But the threat doesn't necessarily go away once they've dropped someone off in the emergency department. In fact, it could be argued that, at times, hospital staff are at more risk than prison officers. Because, in prisons, there are all sorts of precautions and measures in place to minimise the risk of violence. There's none of that in hospitals, though. Not that I see the new law being a solution to this problem we have, where some muppets think it's ok to assault and injure the people who come to our rescue 24/7. The ambulance guy I heard on Newstalk ZB this morning sounded like he's in the “give it a go and see if it works camp”. Which I guess he's more than willing to do given he said that his paramedics are assaulted pretty much every day. He said, at least, a couple of times a day. Prison officers - there were 900 assaults on them last year. But guess what the numbers are for health workers? Numbers aren't available for last year but, according to Health NZ data, there were about 14,000 assaults on staff by patients, family members and visitors between January 2023 and December 2024. The number of assaults increased by 30 percent between the first half of 2023 and the second half of 2024. Fifteen out of 19 health districts saw increases in assaults on staff over the period. No assault on anybody is acceptable. Especially first responders. But, if we're going to judge the situation on numbers, then you could say that the nurses and doctors in our hospitals are at much greater risk of being assaulted than fire, ambulance, police and corrections officers. And emergency department staff, especially, should be protected by this new law. They're not. But they should. Then we get to the broader question as to how or why we've got to the point where a law like this is even needed. How has New Zealand become a place where some of us have a complete disregard for people who are just here to help? That's the wider question. And I reckon there are two possibilities. One, the ambulance guy on the radio mentioned. The other is something much bigger. First - alcohol and drugs. They are undoubtedly part of the problem. Because if you're off your nut on alcohol and/or methamphetamine, you're probably much more likely to have a go at a first responder, aren't you? More likely than if you weren't. And, while I think it's great the Government intends to crack down on first responder assaults, I don't think it's going to make a big difference. The other reason I think we're seeing more and more of this violence towards first responders and hospital staff, is something much deeper. And it's something that I think we are all guilty of - to varying degrees. Respect. Or lack of it. Society, in general, has way less respect for authority than it used to. And we are all more inclined to challenge authority these days than we used to be. So, maybe we shouldn't be surprised that there are some people who take that next-level and are prepared to fight against the authority of ambulance paramedics, firefighters, police officers, corrections officers, doctors and nurses. Sadly, I think that horse has well and truly bolted and I don't see us ever getting back to a time when the idea of assaulting or injuring first responders never entered anyone's head. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on Politics Friday, John MacDonald was joined by National's Vanessa Weenink and Labour's Megan Woods to delve into the biggest stories of the week. Parliament's pressed pause to remember Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp after she died yesterday as a result of kidney disease – what will happen going forward? Doctors are unhappy with the Government's new virtual GP service, are they right to be? And what are their thoughts on taxpayer money potentially going to Moana Pasifika, with Whanau Ora's funding of the association that owns them? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you feel about the prospect of paying higher income tax rates and more GST? I think it's inevitable. So does the Inland Revenue Department. Because of our ageing population. Especially if people think we can have a whole lot more of us 65 and over —which is going to happen— and still provide the same level of assistance and support that is provided now. So IRD is making its case for more tax in what's called its “Long-term Insights Briefing”, which puts ideas on the table for governments to consider and to help the country plan for the future. It's saying cutting costs is one way, but it would be much better to generate more government revenue. To collect more tax. Which I agree with. It's saying today that the future is uncertain, and we need a tax system that can be changed relatively easily, which is why it's focusing on income tax and GST. Because those taxes already exist. Income tax makes up 52% of the tax take and GST accounts for 25%. So there's nearly 80% of the total tax take covered just through PAYE and GST. Company tax, by the way, accounts for just 17% of the tax take. Here are a few more numbers which IRD is using to justify more tax money coming in to cope with the ageing population. At the moment, 16% of us are 65-and-over. But we're on our way to, eventually, having a quarter of our population 65 and older and somehow, we have to pay for that. Because as the Infrastructure Commission pointed out this week, we're going to need less schools and more hospitals. But as we know, hospitals are a lot more expensive than schools and we're going to have to find the money somehow. IRD isn't giving any specific numbers. So it isn't saying what it thinks GST could or should be increased to. Likewise, it's not saying anything about what income tax rates could be increased to. It's just saying that we need to get used to the idea of paying more. Which is another demonstration, isn't it, of how the Government made a mistake reducing the amount of tax revenue it gets. Because I know it talked about us paying less tax and reducing costs at the same time. But running a country costs money, you can only cut costs to a certain point. And when you throw an ageing population into the mix —and the costs that come with that— we all have no option but to chip in a bit more money to pay for it all. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Infrastructure Commission's draft 30-year plan is the kind of big picture thinking we've been saying is needed, instead of the ad-hoc, politically driven approach we have at the moment. Essentially, the Commission says we're going to need less schools and more hospitals because of the ageing population. It also says we're going to need more roads and better roads, and we're going to have to do some serious thinking about how we pay for them. Its draft plan doesn't go into too much detail, other than we're going to have to have more user-pays. Already, we've got one commentator floating an idea that I don't necessarily like, but which I think is inevitable. Because, as the Infrastructure Commission is hinting at, the current way we fund roading in New Zealand has “yesterday” written all over it. Once upon a time, it was probably feasible or sustainable for the government and councils to pay for it all. Or us to pay for it all through our taxes and our rates and not have to pay anything else on top of that. But those days are gone. Which is why I think Matthew Birchall from the New Zealand Initiative think-tank is onto something. He reckons that we should do away with the current road-user charging model —which has people driving the likes of diesel vehicles paying road user charges— and replace it with distance-based charging for all vehicles, on all roads. So the more you drive, the more you pay. He says with vehicles becoming more fuel-efficient and electric cars growing in popularity, the current model isn't fit for purpose. In the next decade alone, NZTA reckons it will be short of about $4 billion to $5 billion. That's the next decade, let alone the next 30 years. He says we need a fairer system that directly links road user charges to those of us who use the roads and how much we use them. And, aside from being a very practical way of getting the money needed for roads, I reckon it would also work in favour of people who think we should all be on public transport. Because, chances are, it might be cheaper in some instances to take the bus. Matthew Birchall calls his idea “smart road user charging” – or smart RUCs. He says: “Under this system, fuel excise duty would be gradually phased out and replaced with distance-based charging for all vehicles." He says road users would choose between an automated “pay-as-you-drive” system or a pre-purchased RUC licence, similar to the existing diesel RUC system. And he says charges would vary based on factors like vehicle type, weight, and time of travel, ensuring that costs are allocated efficiently and equitably. I'm not sure about the equitably bit because I imagine people living in our bigger cities who might not be big income earners might live further out of town and, therefore, might be stung more than wealthier people living closer to the city. But, broadly, I think it's a great idea. In fact, I think it's a no-brainer. I don't love it. But I think it is inevitable. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Opposition Leader has laid out his view of what's needed for peace in the Middle East. A wavering ceasefire remains between Israel and Iran after scolding from the US President, although both claim breaches by the other. Donald Trump claims his country's strikes this week destroyed Iran's nuclear programme, but early US intelligence indicates it's only set it back by months. Chris Hipkins told John MacDonald diplomacy is needed from everyone. He says bombing isn't the answer to ending a nuclear arms race, and anyone believing that should think again. When it comes to the rising number of children bringing weapons to school, Hipkins says the issue didn't come up when Labour was in Government. Figures show 526 students were stood down, suspended, or excluded for using or having a weapon at school last year – up 80% on 2018. Hipkins told MacDonald his party gave schools the power to search kids' bags, but it's not a realistic way to deal with this problem. He says it's time to get the Ministry of Education, Police, and schools to think of proactive solutions. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If we choose to ignore or downplay this new information out today about kids taking weapons to school, we'll be doing it at our peril. Because what do you hear people say time and time again when something terrible happens? These are people in the news who might be commenting about a stabbing or a shooting, or something like that. What is it we hear them say time and time again? “We never thought this sort of thing would happen here.” We hear people in the United States saying it whenever there's something like a school shooting. And you would think people over there wouldn't be surprised, given it happens so often. And we heard it here after the mosque shootings – which had a lot more credence because it's true, we never imagined something like that happening here. But this is why I'm sitting up and paying attention to these stats that have been released to under the Official Information Act. Because we are kidding ourselves if we think that an increase in the number of kids being caught with weapons at school is anything other than the proverbial canary in the mine. Last year, 526 students were stood down, suspended, or excluded for using or having a weapon at school. About 80% up on the numbers in 2018. And I bet there'll be no shortage of people of a certain age saying today that they used to carry a pocketknife around with them when they were young and it wasn't a problem. But there's a key difference between then and now, which is why I think we ignore these numbers at our peril. And it's got nothing to do with the weapons themselves. It's all about the way society has changed and the attitudes and thinking of the kids carrying these weapons and the lives some of them lead. Schools are like a slice of society. They're not little bubbles that are totally isolated from the rest of their communities. Even if there hadn't been any increase in the number of kids being caught with weapons – any amount of weapons getting past the school gate is way more concerning now than it might have been in the past because of that shift in attitude. When you were a kid, if you snuck something into school that you shouldn't have —a pocket knife or whatever— I bet it never crossed your mind that it might be useful if someone started giving you a hard time or something. These days, some people do think like that. Example: in May last year, we had that young guy fatally stabbed by another school kid at the bus stop in Dunedin. The guy with the knife was charged with murder but was, eventually, found guilty of manslaughter. Granted, it didn't happen at school, but it just as easily could. These days, people not only have weapons, they're also not afraid of using them. That's the big difference here. And that's why we need to pay attention to these numbers out today. Because here in New Zealand we are brilliant at sticking our heads in the sand, thinking bad stuff won't happen. And we need to wake up and start doing more than just assume that schools have got this under control. I see principals are saying today that they could do with a bit more support, in terms of the Ministry of Education putting more money into providing guidance for schools on how to deal with the issue of kids and weapons. But that's not enough. We will never be able to wind the clock back and change this attitude shift that has been happening in recent years, where we have people carrying weapons who aren't afraid to use them. Which means that we will never be able to stop some school kids from thinking that it's perfectly fine to leave home in the morning with some sort of weapon in their bag or their pocket. But we can do something about it once they arrive at school. And if that means random bag or pocket searches, then so be it. Because, if we don't, all the people with their heads in the sand will be rabbiting on about things happening here that they never imagined happening here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger is in campaign mode for this year's elections, saying that he thinks the Government might be onto a winner with its idea of forcing councils to put a cap on rates increases. I'm wondering if Phil does actually think it's a good idea, or whether he's just saying it. Because I think it would create havoc for local councils having Wellington telling them how much they could increase rates each year. And this isn't me banging the local democracy drum. This is me taking a commonsense view of things. Something you can't always credit politicians for – whether they're in central or local government. This idea that Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has been talking about in the last 24 hours doesn't fall into the commonsense category. Because yes, every time I see my rates bills I think, “that's a truckload of money”. And like you probably do as well, I wonder where it all goes. But that's what we elect local councils for. We elect them to run the outfit and make the decisions and decide how much they need to charge us ratepayers to pay for it all. And we have to like it or like it. Pretty hard to lump it. Which is why it's very tempting for politicians to bang on about keeping rates down and focusing on the basics. But here's where all that talk falls over and here's why it's nonsense for the Government to think it can tell councils how much more to charge ratepayers each year. And here's why Phil Mauger is wrong to say that it's a good idea. First of all: we're part of the problem. Because even though we don't want to pay more rates, we want more from our local council. We want libraries staying open later. We want footpaths fixed as soon as we see them start to crack. We want roads fixed, but we don't want road cones. We want the council to lend us money for community projects but then, when the rubber hits the road, we cry poor and say we can't afford to pay the interest. We want, want, want. And that means one of two things: either the council saying no or the politicians saying yes, because they think it'll get them re-elected. The other major issue is the whole funding structure for local government. Which is why I think the Government is taking a very narrow approach here. How on earth the Government thinks it could put a cap on annual rates increases without looking at the wider issue, I don't know. And that wider issue is the fact that local councils are being asked to do more and more under their own steam, without any extra funding to make it happen. Example: the Government wants more tourists coming here, but what about the infrastructure needed to support that growth? The Government doesn't pay for that. Local councils do. And the way things are structured at the moment, pretty much the only way they get the money they need to do all the things the Government and us ratepayers want them to do, is to charge rates. And the more we and the government want the councils to do, the more rates we have to pay. That's why this talk from the Government about councils needing to manage their finances better is such nonsense. And Phil Mauger needs to see that too. He thinks a rates cap could be a way of forcing the city council to look at the way it spends money, saying: “I'm open to it. I'm not saying it's the best thing since sliced bread but I'm certainly open to looking at it. I want rates to be as low as they can.” Phil, the only way that's going to happen isn't the Government putting a lid on rates increases. The only way that's going to happen is councils stopping themselves kicking cans down the road and not spending money. We see it time and time again. Councils go for the stuff people can see and ignore the stuff people can't see. Unsexy stuff like water pipes and sewerage pipes. They ignore them so well that, one day, it all goes pear-shaped and suddenly they're facing a gazillion-dollar upgrade. And how do they pay for that? What's the only way they can pay for that? Increased rates. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US air strikes on Iran yesterday are a disaster. A disaster that New Zealand needs to stay well clear of. Before yesterday, the prospect of it happening was a disaster-in-the making. And, now that it's happened, it's an absolute disaster. Not because of what might happen today, tomorrow or the next day. But, what will happen when the world least expects it. Not just in terms of what Iran itself will do. I'm talking about the inevitable terrorism activity because of what happened yesterday. Because, if there's something US President Donald Trump seems to have forgotten in all of this - before he ordered those bombers to fly to Iran and back - is that history often, if not always, teaches us something about the future. When I heard about the attacks yesterday, the first thing I thought about was 9/11. When the world was changed forever after the Al Qaeda terror attacks. Why do you think they happened? What was the lesson that you think might have been learned from that? That Trump might have learned? The lesson 9/11 taught us was that the US and the Middle East don't mix. The September 11 attacks happened because of the United States' history of supporting Israel. That was the nub of it. And it might be why the US has been shy of launching attacks on Iran in recent years. Until yesterday, anyway. And what better display of the US supporting Israel can you get, than yesterday's airstrikes? Which is why I see some very grave consequences coming. As I say, it won't be today. It won't be tomorrow. And I hope I'm wrong. But do you really see these peaceful negotiations happening after yesterday? Seven bombers flying 37 hours from Missouri to Iran and back. Bombing three sites - involving not just the stealth bombers, but other fighter jets and a US submarine, as well. Seventy-five bombs dropped - including 14 “bunker busters”. Which, by the way, was the first time ever that these bunker busters have been used. And then we had Trump and his military bosses crowing about “severe damage and destruction”. But then turning around and saying they don't want war with Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying that the US “is not looking for war in Iran” and that the “world is safer and more stable than it was 24 hours ago”. That's not how I'm seeing it, at all. And Donald Trump saying after the bombings, “now is the time for peace”. Really? Quite rightly, UN head António Guterres is saying “there is no military solution.” He's saying that the airstrikes are a dangerous escalation which “could rapidly get out of control - with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world.” Which is exactly how I'm feeling about it. And I hope that the most-involved New Zealand gets in all of this is sending the air force plane to help kiwis who want to get out of Iran and Israel. There are about 80 New Zealanders in Iran and about 100 in Israel. And that needs to be it. Because this conflict is not something we need to be involved in. I'm pleased to see the Foreign Affairs Minister keeping his cool and not banging the drum about New Zealand doing its bit. Defence Minister Judith Collins is the same. In fact, Winston Peters says it's the most serious issue he's had to respond to during his whole time in politics. Likening the way the world is waiting to see what happens next, to the Cuban missile crisis in the early 1960s. When it looked like the US and the Soviet Union could go to war with each other after Soviet missile sites were discovered in Cuba. So let's get the Kiwis home who want to come home, and leave it at that. Because, if we sign-up to anything involving Donald Trump, we'll have absolutely no idea what we're getting ourselves into. Because, it seems, that the only country that had any sort of heads up before yesterday's attacks was Israel. And I don't want New Zealand having a bar of it. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.