The 2024 Olympics are less than two weeks away, our athletes are selected and ready to go.

Kiwi High Jump star Hamish Kerr has indicated he was more than ready to challenge for gold at the Games in Paris, with a compelling win in Monaco at the Diamond League. 

Hamish joined John MacDonald on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings from France, revealing that he's still got some competing to do before he flies the flag for New Zealand at the games.

LISTEN ABOVE

The 2024 Olympics are less than two weeks away, our athletes are selected and ready to go. 
Kiwi High Jump star Hamish Kerr has indicated he was more than ready to challenge for gold at the Games in Paris, with a compelling win in Monaco at the Diamond League.  
Hamish joined John MacDonald on Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings from France, revealing that he's still got some competing to do before he flies the flag for New Zealand at the games. 
LISTEN ABOVE

Every weekday join the new voice of local issues on Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald, 9am-12pm weekdays.

It’s all about the conversation with John, as he gets right into the things that get our community talking.

If it’s news you’re after, backing John is the combined power of the Newstalk ZB and New Zealand Herald news teams. Meaning when it comes to covering breaking news – you will not beat local radio.

With two decades experience in communications based in Christchurch, John also has a deep understanding of and connections to the Christchurch and Canterbury commercial sector.

Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings 9am-12pm with John MacDonald on 100.1FM and iHeartRadio.

Every weekday join the new voice of local issues on Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald, 9am-12pm weekdays. It’s all about the conversation with John, as he gets right into the things that get our community talking. If it’s news you’re after, backing John is the combined power of the Newstalk ZB and New Zealand Herald news teams. Meaning when it comes to covering breaking news – you will not beat local radio. With two decades experience in communications based in Christchurch, John also has a deep understanding of and connections to the Christchurch and Canterbury commercial sector. Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings 9am-12pm with John MacDonald on 100.1FM and iHeartRadio.

Every weekday join the new voice of local issues on Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald, 9am-12pm weekdays.

It’s all about the conversation with John, as he gets right into the things that get our community talking.

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

Hamish Kerr: Kiwi high jumper talks his career, goals and preparations for the Paris Olympics

Not that long ago, I was talking to a guy who said it was perfectly fine for him to use some old floorboards he’d ripped up out of his kitchen for firewood, because China and India are polluting the atmosphere and so what difference can he make?

These boards were coated in a dark, shiny varnish and they just screamed out “poison” to me.

But, you know, until China and India lift their game and stop spewing toxic stuff into the environment, why should he bother? And, you know, it’s free firewood. That was his attitude.

And he’s the kind of person that the Government will be getting no argument from today over its draft emissions plan which, in my view, is smoke and mirrors and a pipedream.

It wants to do away with some of the big stick stuff that the last Labour government did to reduce emissions and it’s come up with this wishy-washy approach.

Now I’m not saying that everything Labour did on the environment front made sense. But emissions did go down during its time in government.

But the current government is turning its back on that progress because and not only is it saying trees and technology are the answer, it’s also saying that what it wants to do means we won’t meet our emission targets. Which are all part of the bigger global initiative agreed to under the Paris Accord.

The Government’s also pinning its hopes on new technologies that can capture emissions but, generally, it’s all about threes.

As the headline on nzherald.co.nz says this today, the Government is planning a “tree-planting frenzy” to do its bit on the emissions front. 

It reckons it can plant 22,500 thousand hectares in trees - 5,000 hectares of indigenous trees in 2027, 7,500 in 2028; and 10,000 hectares in exotics from 2027.

That 22,500 hectares, by the way, is the equivalent of 222,000 quarter-acre sections. Another way of describing it, is the equivalent of 2,220,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.

So where would they go and how would they be paid for?

The Government is saying that it wants to get private investors planting trees on Crown land. So it provides the land but gets others to pay for the rest. 

It says this wouldn’t be land that is part of any national park. And it wouldn’t be land that is suitable for farming.

Here’s what the draft plan document itself says about that: “Estimates of the area of Crown land that is suitable for planting are preliminary and conservative. Further analysis will be required to confirm land suitability.

“However, it is likely that more land is available, and the potential abatement is greater than currently projected.” 

So it’s going to have half of all these trees planted within four years. It doesn’t actually know where they’re going to - but it’s got a rough idea. And it wants private investors to pay for it. 

Really? That’s a credible plan? The guy burning those poisonous old floorboards I was telling you about earlier probably thinks so. But I don’t.

The Government says it wants to take the approach outlined in its draft plan because it doesn't want to sacrifice economic growth to save the planet. And it reckons that, by doing what it’s proposing, it can do both. Do you really believe that?

It sounds ideal. But it’s a pipedream. Especially when you consider that what New Zealand has been doing in recent years has actually made a difference.

Which is why I think the Government is being incredibly reckless with the approach it is proposing.

Not that long ago, I was talking to a guy who said it was perfectly fine for him to use some old floorboards he’d ripped up out of his kitchen for firewood, because China and India are polluting the atmosphere and so what difference can he make? 
These boards were coated in a dark, shiny varnish and they just screamed out “poison” to me. 
But, you know, until China and India lift their game and stop spewing toxic stuff into the environment, why should he bother? And, you know, it’s free firewood. That was his attitude. 
And he’s the kind of person that the Government will be getting no argument from today over its draft emissions plan which, in my view, is smoke and mirrors and a pipedream. 
It wants to do away with some of the big stick stuff that the last Labour government did to reduce emissions and it’s come up with this wishy-washy approach. 
Now I’m not saying that everything Labour did on the environment front made sense. But emissions did go down during its time in government. 
But the current government is turning its back on that progress because and not only is it saying trees and technology are the answer, it’s also saying that what it wants to do means we won’t meet our emission targets. Which are all part of the bigger global initiative agreed to under the Paris Accord. 
The Government’s also pinning its hopes on new technologies that can capture emissions but, generally, it’s all about threes. 
As the headline on nzherald.co.nz says this today, the Government is planning a “tree-planting frenzy” to do its bit on the emissions front.  
It reckons it can plant 22,500 thousand hectares in trees - 5,000 hectares of indigenous trees in 2027, 7,500 in 2028; and 10,000 hectares in exotics from 2027. 
That 22,500 hectares, by the way, is the equivalent of 222,000 quarter-acre sections. Another way of describing it, is the equivalent of 2,220,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. 
So where would they go and how would they be paid for? 
The Government is saying that it wants to get private investors planting trees on Crown land. So it provides the land but gets others to pay for the rest.  
It says this wouldn’t be land that is part of any national park. And it wouldn’t be land that is suitable for farming. 
Here’s what the draft plan document itself says about that: “Estimates of the area of Crown land that is suitable for planting are preliminary and conservative. Further analysis will be required to confirm land suitability. 
“However, it is likely that more land is available, and the potential abatement is greater than currently projected.”  
So it’s going to have half of all these trees planted within four years. It doesn’t actually know where they’re going to - but it’s got a rough idea. And it wants private investors to pay for it.  
Really? That’s a credible plan? The guy burning those poisonous old floorboards I was telling you about earlier probably thinks so. But I don’t. 
The Government says it wants to take the approach outlined in its draft plan because it doesn't want to sacrifice economic growth to save the planet. And it reckons that, by doing what it’s proposing, it can do both. Do you really believe that? 
It sounds ideal. But it’s a pipedream. Especially when you consider that what New Zealand has been doing in recent years has actually made a difference. 
Which is why I think the Government is being incredibly reckless with the approach it is proposing.

John MacDonald: Is the government's tree talk hot air?

Labour leader Chris Hipkins is unwavering on making Treaty considerations an expectation for Pharmac. 

His Government required Pharmac to commit to embedding Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Associate Health Minister David Seymour's removed it in his newly-released letter of expectation, calling it a distraction. 

Hipkins told John MacDonald Pharmac was engaging more with Māori to improve health outcomes and reduce inequity.

He says Māori weren't accessing medicines at the same rate as non-Māori, and it's perfectly justified for Pharmac to do something about it.

LISTEN ABOVE

Labour leader Chris Hipkins is unwavering on making Treaty considerations an expectation for Pharmac.  
His Government required Pharmac to commit to embedding Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 
Associate Health Minister David Seymour's removed it in his newly-released letter of expectation, calling it a distraction.  
Hipkins told John MacDonald Pharmac was engaging more with Māori to improve health outcomes and reduce inequity. 
He says Māori weren't accessing medicines at the same rate as non-Māori, and it's perfectly justified for Pharmac to do something about it. 
LISTEN ABOVE

Chris Hipkins: Labour Leader on the removal of the Treaty of Waitangi considerations from Pharmac

It can be very tricky sometimes getting to grips with who’s twisting the truth, who’s exaggerating things, and who really are the victims and the villains when it comes to industrial disputes.

And this dispute between the Government and the police over pay and conditions is no different. Although it is in a way. And I’ll get to that.

But, for all intents and purposes, this particular pay dispute is over. Because when negotiations were going nowhere, it went to final arbitration and the arbitrator has ruled in favour of the Government’s final offer. 

In non-technical terms, the arbitrator has told police they can like it or lump it. Which, not surprisingly, they are furious about. And I think they have every right to be furious. Simply because it’s the Police we’re talking about here.

And I think the Government —with all its talk about law and order— I think the way it is treating our police staff is shameful.

In an industrial dispute, each side have their own axe to grind or barrow to push, which I thought about when I heard Chris Cahill from the police union on Newstalk ZB this morning.

Being from the union, of course he’s going to be saying what he thinks he needs to say to not only make the people he represents feel like he’s out there doing the best for them, but also to try and win-over the hearts and minds of those of us who aren’t in the Police.

Those of us who might look at this long, drawn-out dispute from the sidelines and think, for goodness sake, you cops are on a pretty good wicket and you just need to stop whinging about your pay and your conditions.

And there are plenty of people out there who think that. 

I remember someone saying to me once that they see an awful lot of cops in their uniforms at their local fish and chip shop, and fish and chips aren’t cheap, so they can’t be doing that badly.

So Chris Cahill has to try and minimise that kind of talk. Because, if more and more people start thinking that way, then he starts to lose the heart and minds of those who aren’t in the Police and we do start to think that the cops just need to get over themselves.

To like it or lump it, as they’ve been told as a result of this arbitration process. 

But, for me, here’s where this situation is different from pretty much any other pay dispute. And I think we all need to think about it in this way too.

For me, the one question that determines whether the cops have got my heart and my mind is this: Would I be prepared to do what they do?

And the answer to that, for me, is “no”. Would I be prepared to take on someone off their face on drugs and get them somewhere safe? No. Would I be prepared to turn up to horrific road crashes and have the job of telling the families of the victims what has happened? No.

Would I be prepared to go to work and not know whether I’m going to be spat at, shot at, at some point during my shift? No. In fact, you name anything that we expect our police to do, and my answer would be the same.

So, if I’m not prepared to put my hand up - who am I to say that they need to pull their heads in, to just get on with it, stop banging-on about how tough life is for them, to say ‘we’re all finding things tough mate”.

I’m not going to say that. And this is why I think police have every right to be outraged about the outcomes of these pay negotiations with the Government.

They’ve been dumped on, as far as I’m concerned.

It can be very tricky sometimes getting to grips with who’s twisting the truth, who’s exaggerating things, and who really are the victims and the villains when it comes to industrial disputes. 
And this dispute between the Government and the police over pay and conditions is no different. Although it is in a way. And I’ll get to that. 
But, for all intents and purposes, this particular pay dispute is over. Because when negotiations were going nowhere, it went to final arbitration and the arbitrator has ruled in favour of the Government’s final offer.  
In non-technical terms, the arbitrator has told police they can like it or lump it. Which, not surprisingly, they are furious about. And I think they have every right to be furious. Simply because it’s the Police we’re talking about here. 
And I think the Government —with all its talk about law and order— I think the way it is treating our police staff is shameful. 
In an industrial dispute, each side have their own axe to grind or barrow to push, which I thought about when I heard Chris Cahill from the police union on Newstalk ZB this morning. 
Being from the union, of course he’s going to be saying what he thinks he needs to say to not only make the people he represents feel like he’s out there doing the best for them, but also to try and win-over the hearts and minds of those of us who aren’t in the Police. 
Those of us who might look at this long, drawn-out dispute from the sidelines and think, for goodness sake, you cops are on a pretty good wicket and you just need to stop whinging about your pay and your conditions. 
And there are plenty of people out there who think that.  
I remember someone saying to me once that they see an awful lot of cops in their uniforms at their local fish and chip shop, and fish and chips aren’t cheap, so they can’t be doing that badly. 
So Chris Cahill has to try and minimise that kind of talk. Because, if more and more people start thinking that way, then he starts to lose the heart and minds of those who aren’t in the Police and we do start to think that the cops just need to get over themselves. 
To like it or lump it, as they’ve been told as a result of this arbitration process.  
But, for me, here’s where this situation is different from pretty much any other pay dispute. And I think we all need to think about it in this way too. 
For me, the one question that determines whether the cops have got my heart and my mind is this: Would I be prepared to do what they do? 
And the answer to that, for me, is “no”. Would I be prepared to take on someone off their face on drugs and get them somewhere safe? No. Would I be prepared to turn up to horrific road crashes and have the job of telling the families of the victims what has happened? No. 
Would I be prepared to go to work and not know whether I’m going to be spat at, shot at, at some point during my shift? No. In fact, you name anything that we expect our police to do, and my answer would be the same. 
So, if I’m not prepared to put my hand up - who am I to say that they need to pull their heads in, to just get on with it, stop banging-on about how tough life is for them, to say ‘we’re all finding things tough mate”. 
I’m not going to say that. And this is why I think police have every right to be outraged about the outcomes of these pay negotiations with the Government. 
They’ve been dumped on, as far as I’m concerned.

Hamish Kerr: Kiwi high jumper talks his career, goals and preparations for the Paris Olympics

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