Kerre Woodham: Productivity and the great Christmas shutdown

This morning, I'm going to pretty much let Toss Grumley do the opener for me.   Who's Toss Grumley? Well, Toss is a New Zealand business advisor and investor. The Post has run an editorial he wrote, bemoaning the Christmas shutdown. In it he said New Zealand's Christmas break has started to become…

Kerre Woodham: Should convictions for violence be public record?

Now, surely, it should be a straightforward exercise. You're about to embark on a relationship with someone, and you want to do a police check. Does this person have previous convictions for violence? Seems charming, seems a lovely, but you hear horror stories. So, why wouldn't you want to check on…

Kerre Woodham: What would it take to get police trust to 80%?

It's been 12 months since Richard Chambers became New Zealand's Police Commissioner. And by crikey, he's had a busy old time of it, a little bit of a poisoned chalice. There's been the clean out of the police hierarchy following the McSkimming scandal – or really, scandals. And two months after his…

Doug Marlowe: Global expert on drug-court policy on the effectiveness of the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court

Calls to expand the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court across the country. AODTC was launched in New Zealand in 2012 as a pilot to steer high-risk, high-need offenders away from prison. Offenders must plead guilty and face a likely prison term of up to three years for drug offences, committin…

Kerre Woodham: A rates cap or an erosion of services and facilities?

Auckland households face a 7.9% rate rise next year, primarily to fund the operating costs for the $5.5 billion City Rail Link, which is nearly finished. It's a reality, it's going to open for passengers next year – woo! The increase will cover the $235 million annual cost of operating the new unde…

Kerre Woodham: Labour makes big promises, but can they deliver?

Hundreds of the Labour Party faithful gathered over the weekend in Auckland to begin the march back to Parliament's government benches. Council of Trade Unions head Sandra Gray was preaching to the converted when she told the crowd that New Zealand's Pavlova paradise has been eaten up by the rich. …

Tom Walters: Matakana Oysters owner says industry is struggling after heavy rain and wastewater spill

Auckland oyster farmers are facing another blow just weeks after a major wastewater spill into the Mahurangi River. Watercare says heavy rain on 19 November caused 86 cubic metres of wastewater and stormwater to overflow into the river from a Warkworth pipeline. The Ministry for Primary Industrie…

Kerre Woodham: E-scooters, cycle lanes, and public demand

The Government's move to shift e-scooter users from the sidewalk to bike lanes is being hailed as a win for common sense. Shame it's not coming in before the Christmas party season. ACC stats for e-scooter injuries this year are close to surpassing $14 million.  Now, I don't believe that's because…

Kerre Woodham: Are you feeling optimistic?

The Pohutukawa are out and flowering and abundant. The days are longer, the sun is shining, the Reserve Bank has cut the OCR, Christmas is coming, summer holidays are on the horizon, Chris Hipkins was talking tough around any kind of coalition with the Greens. We're in charge, we're not going to ha…

Kerre Woodham: Regional councils need to be streamlined

Regional councils are being abolished – or are they?  Thomas Coughan writing in the Herald makes a very good point, it's not the councils that are being abolished, it's the council laws.  Under the Government's proposal, which was announced yesterday, regional councils would have their governance…