Andrew Dickens Afternoons

Another winter’s day Monday and another litany of claims that the country is going to hell in a hand cart. Firstly today the Salvation Army launched it’s winter appeal by releasing a survey.The first I knew of it was when I was Television One’s breakfast panel this morning. There the survey was headlined like this. “Shocking new Salvation Army survey finds nearly half of New Zealanders have gone without heating, 37 percent have skipped a meal as winter costs bite”Now to be honest I don’t know where the shocking part of the headline came from mainly because I think we’ve all been there.For instance. In my house we have strict rules about heating. It’s on for one hour in the morning and two hours at night and if you get cold go get a puffer jacket. We have slowly been replacing the insulation in our house. Actually to be honest we’ve been installing it because as we found out a few years ago our 100 year old house had not one fibre of insulation.My bedroom is not insulated. This morning at 7am it was 7 degrees

So Sir Stephen Tindall is stepping away from the company he created, the Warehouse.From a company he created in a garage, the big Red Store has become part of the New Zealand landscape.  Its shops have sprouted in towns across New Zealand, providing Kiwis with affordable goods and towns with valuable jobs.With $200 million his pockets he’s decided to dedicate the rest of his life to inspire his fellow countrymen to better themselves.It’s something he’s already well versed in.  His Tindall Foundation has looked at social issues and invested $160 million worth of Warehouse dividends into New Zealand communities.The foundation is mostly concerned with education and housing.  On education, he says we appear to have skipped a generation of parents in terms of needs and that we need to teach parents different ways to bring up their kids.On housing, he talks about an Auckland Primary School where 40 per cent of the students were transient. He knows that all our problems are interlinked.  So the Tindall foundation is

So I see the average police salary is a tick over $67,000.Is that enough money to convince you to work all night, in the crap and the vomit and the violence and the anger and the pure emotion, to deal with the least likable sector of our society, some of whom are barely above feral animals?To risk your physical well-being and to risk condemnation from social justice warriors observing from the comfy armchairs if, in a split second, you make an error of procedure? To know that unless you’re one of the few who get to the top then this will never be a career that can take you to retirement because of the toll it takes on your body.Is $67,000 enough to make you take all that on?No, I didn’t think so.And if you were a youngster looking at the starting constables salary of $56,000, would you be thinking I’ll have some of that? When you realise that most of your squadmates are only earning 10 grand more than that after their years of stress and abuse? Or would you be looking at what the nurses have just been offered

So if you were offered a four day working week, would you take it?Actually, to save time, let me rephrase that and let me be careful so I don’t make a Trumpian mistake: if you were offered a four day working week, who wouldn’t take it.Most of us would jump at it not because it’s a four day working week but because it means it’s a three day weekend. But to afford the three day weekend, we’ve got to work for four days, and in that work we have to make enough money that we can afford the luxury of the perpetual long weekend.So the Perpetual Guardian trial of the four day working week has finished and its boss Andrew Barnes told Mike Hosking this morning it’s been a huge success; in fact, he rated it 9.5 out of 10. The fear was that to get all the work done, work life would be more stressful, but staff surveys say the stress level actually reduced.The research shows the thing everyone loved was the substantial improvement in work-life balance. Andrew Barnes saw a massive increase in engagement. In other words, wh

School holiday programmes are being labelled as too expensive by organisers.Mangere East Family Services used to run holiday programmes, but CEO Peter Sykes says the high costs forced them to stop."The costs and risks of keeping a group of children together and getting the right staff and staff ratios just makes it not worthwhile."Sykes says safety is another concern.He says holiday programmes which receive Government funding have to have staff which meet the same quality of care as those at schools."So even your so-called 'volunteers', your core structure has to meet the safety needs [...] volunteers don't need to be vetted but the overall programme does."He says they are expensive for parents too with the average price per kid ranging from $15 -$100 a day.LISTEN ABOVE AS PETER SYKES SPEAKS WITH ANDREW DICKENSSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday during this programme we heard of a drowning tragedy at Muriwai BeachA pair of New Zealanders, refugees from Myanmar who had been in the country for 20 years were fishing on the Muriwai Rocks. They went fairly often and they loved it.The husband and wife have nine children, the youngest just seven years old, and one grandchild.Some of the children were present when their father first slipped off the rocks while trying to haul in a fish. His wife held out a rod for him to grab, but she too fell into the surging water. Both were battered against the rocks. Despite the efforts of rescue crews the pair died at the scene.It was monumentally sad.So the deaths were quickly labelled an all-too-common tragedy by Rodney local board deputy chair Phelan Pirrie, as people constantly underestimate the dangers of the West Coast. He says the council has put up signs, and they get bigger after each tragedy.But a sign is just a sign.As I heard the story unfold, two words just kept popping into my mind. Two words that

What a strange and surreal and wonderful weekend that I had full of magic moments and ironies.Not least of which was the fact that I buried my mother on Saturday. A year after her death.She’s been sitting around all that time probably tutting as her family took their time to lay her to rest. But what with her estate, the incredibly stuffed flat that took months to clear, the engraving on headstone and the 300 bucks it cost to get the Waikato District Council to dig a little hole in the ground our family already owned, meant that time ticked by.And so on Saturday, my brother and my families gathered in Tuakau. Said some words. Had some silence as rain skudded by and the wind whipped through the manuka, and then we laid Mum to rest. It was moody, sad, funny and touching.Sunday was spent listening to the rain which came and came and came. With perfect timing. Why does it pour whenever there is a king tide? It’s like Mother Nature wants to flood us away.In a rare break in the weather we walked the dog down at the

A photo of some Chinese BBQ chicken has caused confusion for some Australian customers.A Reddit user posted a photo to the social media site showing several boxes of the Woolworths-brand chicken.From the angle that the user took the photo, it looks as though the word 'Shit' has been scrawled over the box. Have no fair - the supermarket chain is not selling shitty chicken. It's simply the time that they were cooked - 7:45"It took me a minute to realise why someone would be writing “Shit” all over the Woolworths chicken", the user wrote. LISTEN TO ANDREW DICKENS DECIPHER THIS CASE ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve been saying it a while but we live in interesting times.And much of that interest has been sparked by the current President of the United States who has taken an aggressive stance to long-standing problems.He is taking aim at many of the organisations that have been part of the world’s normal for many decades now. First, it was the Paris Climate Accord and the TPP trade agreement but then he’s gone on to attack some longer-standing frameworks.Donald Trump has threated to dismantle the World Trade Organisation and more recently NATO has been in his fire. Both organisations were born out of war and conflict.The World trade Organisation started out as GATT, the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade back in 1948. It was after World war 2 and it was created along with the IMF and the World Bank to reduce economic difficulties arising that so often escalated into military actions. In 1994 it was refashioned and renamed the World Trade Organisation.It is fair to say that at it’s most basic level the WTO has wo

There's a call for New Zealand to introduce a disabled "companion card" scheme similar to those run overseas.In Australia, such a programme gives discounted and free tickets to the companion escorting a registered disabled person to an event.There's a similar scheme in Great Britain.Caller Melanie, who cares for her disabled son in Sydney, told Andrew Dickens that she was shocked to learn that no such scheme exists in New Zealand. She had been intending on taking her son to see Cher at Spark Arena. She said both LiveNation Australia and Spark Arena were unable to help her. Richard Benge, Executive Director of Arts Access Aotearoa, told Andrew Dickens that hindering the ability of disabled people to bring a companion is denying them their human rights.He says New Zealanders have every right to be very disappointed by this, given how successfully it has been run in Australia.A spokesperson from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage says they are currently leading research work on companion ticketing in New Zeala

So the nurses have voted to strike.To recap the deal was doubled in May and was worth more than half a billion dollars.It included a three per cent pay increases in June, August and September 2019, as well as a $2000 lump sum payment and an increase to on-call rates. It created two new pay steps at the top end. From December, $72,944 would be the highest base salary, followed by $77,386 from December next year.And it would have had a widespread effect because 15,000 of the 20,030 registered midwives and nurses employed at DHBs were included in the top category. So most nurses were about to break the 70 grand barrier and get close to 80 grandNot only that, at the last moment the DHBs and government added a sweetener of $48m of Ministry of Health funding - $38m to employ between 500 and 600 extra nurses and $10m for new safe staffing measures.The nurses union recommended that the nurses take the deal but they voted against it. They’re going to strike. They want more.But the nation is wondering if there is more

I was intrigued this morning to read an opinion piece on Tomorrow’s Schools written by Bali Haque.Now Bali Haque is an educational consultant. He has been a principal, deputy principal, head of the department, teacher and deputy chief executive of NZQA. He’s a guy who back in February, said the teachers call for a 14.5 per cent pay rise was not just reasonable but not enough. He wrote in his opinion piece on teachers pay that a teacher is worth as much as a backbencher MP and using that logic a teacher should be paid $164,000 a year.Now what was so intriguing about Bali Haque’s editorial this morning, was that it said that the Tomorrow’s School model belongs in the past and that’s interesting because Bali Haque is the chairman of the Independent Taskforce charged with reviewing the Tomorrow School’s system but it appears before the end of that review he’s already wanting to take the system apart. Maybe I’m just being naïve but it doesn’t sound like the reviewer of the system is going into the review with an o

So business confidence continues to fall with the latest result this week from the NZIER the lowest our business confidence has been in five years.Now I could repeat the editorial I wrote a month ago that said why should businesses feel worried but that was a month ago.Since then we’ve had survey after survey saying the same thing. It may be criticised as a self-fulfilling prophecy but the problem is it’s actually fulfilling itself. The business community are not sure what will happen and so bit by bit they’re deciding not to take too many risks over the next few years.The problem is not necessarily the government’s budget or even the Finance Minister who I feel is playing a very straight bat. I trust him to keep a tight rein on the fiscal budget. The problem is those beneath him who’ve been throwing their grand statements around without realising that their words now carry power.It’s easy to highlight Shane Jones with his attacks on Fonterra and Air New Zealand. If that’s how he feels about those businesses

I’d like to make a statement which I’ve never made before in my broadcasting career.I smoke.I’ve never said this on the radio as obviously I never wanted to promote smoking in any way shape or form.But I’ve started quitting.I’m 55 years these days and through my life I’ve smoked too much.  Even with my light habit of four or five a day it’s been bugging me.So over my holiday, I decided to quit. And guess what I’ve done? I started vaping. And I just started the Champix this week.So I’m hoping that this is all going to fix it all up, and I just thought I really should be honest about this. I don’t think I’ve been honest throughout my broadcasting career completely. It hasn’t coloured my opinions at all, as such, but thought I should say it.You want to know why I never said it? I remember when I was a kid and I was about 14 or 15, and my dad just randomly out of the blue as we were driving along the road, said ‘Son, if I ever catch you smoking, you’re disowned’.I believed him. So much of my smoking has been secr

So I’ve been reflecting on the confusing case of the Transmission Gully tollsI said yesterday I thought that you can’t just slap on a toll unless you’ve signalled it from the start of the project. Which they had the chance to do.Wellingtonians were surveyed to find out whether they would mind a toll which would have sped the project up and it could have been delivered in 2006. And you know what? Wellingtonians were fine with that but the powers that be ignored that and funded it themselves. ‘So that’s that surely. A decision was made and now we’re about to get the road, albeit 14 years later.But now transport authorities and the Minister are considering tolling so that not too many people use it.Now here’s the thing. Transmission Gully is there to relieve the suburbs of Paremata, Plimmerton, Pukerua Bay and Paekakariki that currently have a two lane State Highway through the middle of them.It’s also necessary because it provides a third route out of Wellington, which could have easily found itself isolated in

So I’m just back from a week’s break where I honestly did nothing but ride a bike, read two books, eat well and sleep. And furthermore, I threw my phone away.I answered no calls, I searched no news sites, and I did not scan any social media. I was blissfully disconnected.I met a lovely old couple on the beach and I asked them if anything was happened and all they could say was that the Prime Minister had given her baby an Irish and Maori name but they couldn’t remember what so I knew nothing was really happening.Occasionally, I was worried that I might have missed something but then decided that I’d decide that when I got back yesterday. So I got back and you know what: I missed nothing.The government gave beneficiaries more money and the first regional fuel tax started but we all knew that was coming.America continues to rip itself apart on the issue of illegal migrants, split between the ones who want to come down too hard and the protestors who want to be too soft.There’s still horror with the body of a tw

The spotlight has been tightening lately around the issue of government reform of bail laws.This always going to be a tricky maneuver and I can’t help but get the feeling that there will be some change if for no other reason than a newly elected government and Justice Minister wants to demonstrate how they are doing something about a system which, they argue, is broken.I know this is pretty cynical take to put on it but let's face it, in this respect, as a policeman might say – “they’ve got form”The problem with reforming bail laws and being too prescriptive is that judges are the ones who are dealing with the people in front of them.Now, it has been a while since I practised law but I remember there being many factors in deciding whether or not an individual was granted bail.This included the questions of whether the crime they have been charged with was likely to result in what is euphemistically referred to as a “custodial sentence” in which case time spent on remand was usually deducted from the sentence.

While the news coverage around the birth of the Jacinda Ardern’s baby might be seen by some to be a little over the top, here's hoping that it marks an opportunity to shift to a more positive discussion around parenthood in general. Because, apart from this notable exception, recent language and discussions seem to frame the idea of having children and looking after then in consistently negative terms.There is, of course, the ongoing discussion around the pay gap between stay-at-home parents and those who keep working. A recent article described the difference in pay outcomes as the motherhood or fatherhood “penalty”.It’s vital to continue these discussions, and for mums and dads to feel that they have a choice around this important issue. But I can’t help but feel that the role of the stay at home parent is portrayed in very negative terms. The conversation always seems to imply that the stay at home parent is somehow the loser in this equation.Add to that the complete lack of empathy for the plight of child

There's been a full scale emergency at Napier Airport after an ATR72 turbo-prop's engine caught fire.Fire and Emergency positioned fire trucks on the runway as the plane circled, dumping fuel.Talkback caller Paul told Andrew Dickens it was obvious there was a problem with the plane almost immediately after take-off."It was the most unusual, it wasn't climbing either it was flattening out, it was definite misfiring malfunctioning engine."  LISTEN ABOVE AS ANDREW DICKENS TALKS TO WITNESS PAUL    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Dickens talks with Newstalk ZB's political editor, Barry Soper, about the story of the day which, whether you like it or not, is the fact that our Prime Minister is about to have her baby. Politicians across the House have wished Jacinda Ardern well and Soper says he hasn't seen anything like it in his almost 50 years covering politics in this country."It's a Prime Minister having a child, in office, it's a story. I've been in this business for almost half a century and I can tell you in my time covering stories, this is a story."LISTEN ABOVE AS BARRY SOPER TALKS TO ANDREW DICKENSSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.