/on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/rss 九一星空无限 Sun, 20 Apr 2025 14:43:19 Z en /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-we-need-to-simplify-easter-trading-hours/ /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-we-need-to-simplify-easter-trading-hours/ If you live in a city, there is something quite special about waking up on Good Friday - to the sound of silence. There are no cars on the road, no hum of traffic in the distance, no sound of people going about their day-to-day routines. My first thought on Friday was - it’s like Christmas Day. My second thought wasn’t as pleasant - it’s like lockdown. But the feeling was the same - how nice the world is when it pauses for a moment. But as much as I appreciate these few days a year when many get to stop, the crazy rush, chock-a-block carparks and supermarkets on Thursday and Saturday made me wonder whether it’s worth it.  We don’t seem to be able to cope, or prepare, for supermarkets to shut. If we weren’t down on hot cross buns, I certainly wouldn’t have made the trip to my local. It’s lovely having Friday and Sunday off, but not, if the days around it are a nightmare. We have been talking about the inconsistencies and confusion around retail laws over Easter for as long as I can remember. What is open and shut depends on where you are in the country; sometimes where you are in a city. Don’t forget it’s the local authority which decides whether stores can open or not.   It depends on what you’re selling. There are strange restrictions on what can be sold, and you must be selling something that people can’t put off buying until the next day. But you can get a haircut. And just to make it even more confusing - the Shop Trading Hours Act covers both public holidays, and days that aren’t public holidays, such as Easter Sunday. I think it’s time to let people decide for themselves how they want to spend their Easter. Whether they open their businesses, work or shop, or do none of the above and quietly go about their day.  We’ve been arguing forever the merits of a day off and people being able to spend time with family and friends, or businesses being able to make the most of people wanting to spend money and get jobs done.  We have spoken about employees facing pressure from their employers to work over Easter when they would prefer not to. And how there are plenty of employees who would happily take the benefits of working a public holiday.  Let’s not forget online retailers can sell you whatever they like on these days.  What a minefield of confusion. Let’s just bite the bullet, simplify the laws, make sure employees are protected, and let businesses decide if they open or not, and get on like it’s 2025 and not 1990.  I’m also pleased sense is being shown around the purchase of alcohol over Easter. Labour MP Kieran McAnulty’s Bill to change rules around alcohol sales on ANZAC Day morning, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Christmas was voted through its first reading a week or so ago.  Currently, people must order a meal before having an alcoholic beverage at a restaurant or pub. Once again, it’s all about simplifying the rules for both hospo, tourists, and Kiwis catching up at a restaurant over the holiday period. And there are a lot of businesses who would appreciate it being simpler to make a buck. LISTEN ABOVE Sat, 19 Apr 2025 22:33:13 Z /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-ive-got-an-idea-for-the-next-netflix-hit/ /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-ive-got-an-idea-for-the-next-netflix-hit/ Have I got an idea for Netflix - although I’m unlikely the first to have it.   The shock announcement late this week that Peter Burling was leaving Team New Zealand made me wish Netflix would take us inside the world of match racing and the America’s Cup.   It’s got everything that’s made F1 such a TV hit - big money, big personalities, big egos, big competition - with a solid dose of life-threatening risk thrown in.   Who wouldn’t watch it? You would, right?   I don’t really give a flying hoot whether the America’s Cup comes back to New Zealand. I don’t think a lot of Kiwis do, even if they have cherished memories of past Cups. I think we all now understand the nature of this sport. It’s driven by a wealthy few, and paid for by aspirational brands. It will do whatever it needs to thrive as an event.   It doesn’t stop us getting behind the sailors and the incredible design teams when racing begins. But we don’t feel attached in the same way we once were.  But back to my point - it would make for great TV. There’s always some kind of potential ‘blowup’ lurking near the running of the America’s Cup and Team New Zealand -  location negotiations, rivalries and disputes, and fascinating characters all over it.   In January, skipper Sir Ben Ainslie and INEOS chef Jim Ratcliffe suddenly split - and in the last couple of days, INEOS Britannia announced it was abandoning its challenge for the next America's Cup after failing to reach a settlement with Ainslie's team Athena Racing.   Can’t you just see Jimmy Spithill being the resident expert talking us through it all? What good fun!   The parting of Peter Burling and Team New Zealand is probably as simple as it sounds. This is what Team New Zealand Chief Executive Grant Dalton told Ryan Bridge on Drive on Friday when he asked what happened….  AUDIO: We just ran out of time basically….. we couldn’t get going… we’re in new territory trying to win it for the fourth time…  We got to get going.”   Who knows if Burling was aware of the time constraints on him to make a decision. Dalton says money and time were issues. Burling is apparently surprised it has come to this. But they both claim to be parting on good terms, and I believe it.    Burling stepped up when he was 26 with a bunch of cyclists and his trusty sidekick Blair Tuke to win the America’s Cup in Bermuda. He then went on to defend it twice more. It’s an incredible record for such a young athlete, and it’s no surprise that in-between the four-year America’s Cup cycle he’s gone on to lead the Black Foils Sail GP team and set up an environmental charity. I wish him well.   But once again, isn’t it fascinating to watch a team do whatever they have to do to win? If you hate participation certificates, you’ll love the cut throat nature of the America’s Cup. Just like we do with F1. Except when it comes to Liam Lawson of course.   LISTEN ABOVE Sat, 12 Apr 2025 22:36:15 Z /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-wegovy-could-change-our-health-system-if-we-let-it/ /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-wegovy-could-change-our-health-system-if-we-let-it/ This week has been a brutal reminder of how politics and politicians like to work and be seen. How important it is to be the centre of attention, to be seen to be ‘doing’ - even if it’s just for appearances and there’s little evidence of a real productive outcome.   Whether it’s destabilizing global economic and trade order, championing legislation that’s dead on arrival, or feeling the need to speak for 25 hours straight, it has definitely been a fascinating week in politics.   But for all the attention seeking, polarisation and stoking of grievances, there’s also been some good work going on.   This week, David Seymour announced the weight-loss drug Wegovy has been approved by Medsafe, with its producer hoping to make it available in New Zealand as soon as possible.   Wegovy is like the celebrity-championed Ozempic - it’s a semaglutide injection that acts to regulate appetite by increasing the feeling of fullness and reducing food cravings. Unlike Ozempic, which is approved in New Zealand to treat type 2 diabetes, Wegovy is approved just as a weight loss drug.   I’ve very much sat on the fence when it comes to these drugs - like many people, including author Johann Hari, who has used Ozempic and written at length about it in his best-selling book Magic Pill.   He cites the many concerns around the use of this drug - including its wide availability in parts of the world, its impact on eating disorders, or those who don’t really need it. Then there’s the long list of side effects and the possibility you might need to stay on it for life to maintain your weight. And then there’s the simple boredom of living life without an appetite.  But if you use this drug selectively on people who have exhausted other means of losing weight and are facing serious health issues - it could be a massive game changer for our health system.   It was a cardiologist involved in heart transplants who convinced me of the importance of access to drugs like Wegovy. She told me it could be the one thing which stops a heart transplant being the only option left for her patients. I’ve had GPs say to me that this could have a huge impact on reducing type 2 diabetes, orthopaedic issues, cancer, and strokes.  They are not saying it should be available for every obese New Zealander - that would be 1 in 3 adults - but for patients with chronic complex conditions.   But here’s the thing - at this stage Pharmac is not funding the drug, and it is cost prohibitive. Wegovy is available in Australia, it costs NZ$497 per month for the recommended dose required to have the best weight management outcome.   So, serious work needs to go into assessing the benefit a drug such as this could have on reducing the burden on our health system. If the benefits outweigh the costs, then it needs to be funded by Pharmac as soon as possible.   LISTEN ABOVE Sat, 05 Apr 2025 22:06:34 Z /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-weve-had-a-stadium-update-but-the-competition-continues/ /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-weve-had-a-stadium-update-but-the-competition-continues/ After two years, Auckland Council has finally picked a winner in the race to be the future New Zealand national stadium.   Although it doesn’t really feel like a win. Just a little more clarity. And maybe not even that.  The process was supposed to take three months - but on Thursday, Auckland Council finally picked between the final contenders - a new stadium on the waterfront or a renovated Eden Park - and confirmed their preference for Eden Park.   It’s at this point we should acknowledged the stamina of those involved in the projects which answered Auckland Council’s call in 2023 for expressions of interest for a new or (in Eden Park’s case) upgraded stadium. I applaud their passion for bold ideas, and ambition to create a more vibrant city that will attract people, performers and financial returns.   I just hope they’ve got a lot more stamina in them, because there’s still a fair distance to travel.  That’s because after all this time and debate - dating back to 2006 when the council contemplated a waterfront stadium over Eden Park for the 2011 Ruby World Cup - there isn’t actually any public money available to get any of this done.   The council doesn’t have any money budgeted for a ‘national stadium’; they’re passing the ball to central Government. But council support is important to the Eden Park Trust, as there are currently constraints on how it can be used, and there’s no point spending another cent on Eden Park if it can’t be used more as a multi-purpose venue.   The council would also quite like Eden Park to repay its $58 million loan from the 2011 Rugby World Cup by its due date - 2029.  Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner told Mike Hosking Breakfast on Friday he was confident about the conversation Eden Park could have with central Government. And why wouldn’t he be - the Prime Minister has made it clear he wants New Zealand to have a culture of saying ‘Yes!’   $110 million is what Eden Park needs for the first of stage of development on the Lower North Stand construction - allowing removable seating and a fuller cricket field. According to Sautner, Eden Park is not looking for new money, but for the government to be more efficient with existing money. I’m not sure what this means - are they targeting Sport and Recreation’s budget or the infrastructure budget?   Sautner’s confidence likely dimmed a little by the end of the day when Associate Finance Minister David Seymour politely told Ryan Bridge on 九一星空无限talk ZB that everyone is a bit short of money these days, even the Government, and it’s hard to imagine they would put $110 million into a stadium.   The Prime Minister added that putting money towards schools, hospitals and roading was more of a priority than helping fund an upgraded Eden Park.   They might need to crack into a PPP for funding sooner than they’re currently anticipating, for Stage 2.   So, while some celebrated that clarity had been provided - we’re sticking with the status quo - we haven’t really put the great New Zealand stadium debate to bed. Why? Because it didn’t really matter who the council picked, both options can continue regardless of the council’s decision. It comes down to who finds the money first. From what I’ve heard, the Te Tōangaroa consortium is continuing with its planning for the waterfront stadium. No one can argue schools, hospitals and roads aren’t more important, but hopefully someone with the stamina and vision can pull off one of these options sometime in the next decade.   I’m not going to hold my breath.  LISTEN ABOVE Sat, 29 Mar 2025 22:21:58 Z /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-simeon-brown-showed-his-patronising-true-colours/ /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-simeon-brown-showed-his-patronising-true-colours/ So this week we saw Health Minister Simeon Brown’s true colours, and they were a little patronising.   Brown said he wanted medical officers of health to stop writing about issues like fast food and “leading advocacy campaigns” on public health issues. Instead, he said their focus should be on “technical advice” and immunisation campaigns.   The thing is, promoting health and preventing disease by assessing a community's health needs and the underlying social factors impacting health and wellbeing is what medical health officers do. It’s a core part of their job and comes with an obligation to talk about broader health needs such as the impact of alcohol, tobacco, or fast food.   Brown clearly has preferences he’d rather they spoke about - like immunisations. Increasing immunisation rates has been a key priority and target for the Government since taking power, and progress is slow. But I’m not sure telling public health doctors to stay in their lane, a lane dictated by Government, is going to keep them on side.    Public health officers haven’t been banned from speaking out about what might be best for their community or region, but have been told any advice they want to offer will need sign off at a national level.   Association of Salaried Medical Specialists Executive Director Sarah Dalton told me on Early Edition this week that Brown is overstepping the mark. She says there are widespread concerns at attempts to silence doctors - preventing them speaking about public health and patient safety issues. She acknowledges we need to be sensible, but should also respect the significant training and responsibilities our senior doctors hold under legislation.   It’s also an odd thing for Brown to focus on. Maybe he wants a Big Mac next time he drives through Wanaka, but calling out a declined application for MacDonald’s was a poor talking point - it was declined because of location not the advice of a medical officer of health.   There is so much more to focus on when it comes to our overwhelmed health system. The Government should refer to its own list of priorities which reflects what the public is more interested in - reducing wait times in EDs, providing more primary care and cutting through surgery wait lists. These are the issues we should be laser focused on, not creating an environment in which those with health expertise and knowledge can no longer speak freely.   And as for Brown commenting that people should be able to make their own decisions when it comes to their health and what they chose to eat, well, yes, they should. And they do. All the time. Based on good information - including from, you guessed it, medical experts.  We rely on doctors and our GPs to do the preventative work, supporting people to make good decisions for both themselves and our health system. As the Ministry of Health said in their briefing to new Minister of Health in January - “enhancing our focus on prevention is essential to create the best possible chance of good health across the life-course”.  So maybe we should just leave doctors to it. If doctors aren’t allowed to give broad advice on health, I’m not sure who is. LISTEN ABOVE Sat, 22 Mar 2025 21:16:45 Z /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-the-pressures-on-for-chris-luxon/ /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-the-pressures-on-for-chris-luxon/ It’s been a very busy and important week for the Prime Minister. There was a reason he championed the Investment Summit and made himself available to attendees to a degree unusual for a Prime Minister at events like this.   Plain and simple, he desperately needs it to be successful.   He has staked his leadership on growing our economy, which includes creating an infrastructure pipeline and attracting the overseas finance to help get things done.   It’s going to take time to evaluate the summit’s success, but the Prime Minister would have been buoyed to hear the Italian tunnelling company behind Auckland’s massive Interceptor wastewater project say it will keep workers and machinery in New Zealand now the Government has outlined a proposed pipeline of infrastructure projects. That’s an early win.   And wins are what the Prime Minister and coalition need. Two polls this week showed support for Labour is higher than National, and Labour leader Chris Hipkins is overtaking Luxon as preferred Prime Minister. It’s not just the National Party who will be concerned. The Taxpayers Union Poll saw ACT drop 2.3 to 7.7 percent and NZ First drop 1.3 to 5.1 percent.   I know there’s a lot of scepticism about polls. It’s not as if Labour are presenting an alternative invigorating vision that’s dragging voters over. The concern for the Government is they don’t seem to need to; there’s some wisdom in Labour sitting back and letting the Government lose support all on their own.   The declining trend in popularity and the Prime Minister’s inability to get traction will irk the hard-working coalition. Especially because they are undoubtedly hard working. But for voters, it only counts if it leads to results.   The Prime Minister can’t be panicked – he doesn’t have time – but the pressure is on. Last night, Christopher Luxon headed off on his first visit to India as Prime Minister in an attempt to deliver another election promise by securing a free trade agreement during his first term in Government. Apparently, the best we can expect is to establish a timeframe for when they begin formal negotiations. Luxon needs to come home with this at a minimum.  Next week also sees Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters in the US, discussing New Zealand’s relationship with the Trump administration. Peters will meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other US political contacts to discuss a wide range of international issues – including, no doubt, tariffs. Peters is the man for the job, but once again the pressure is on.   As the Prime Minister and Government are learning, results take time. But voters are not as patient as they used to be – and their politics are centred on the cost-of-living and making ends meet.   While there is no imminent danger to leadership, the polls are a flashing light that without some big wins soon, they may run out of time.  LISTEN ABOVE Sat, 15 Mar 2025 22:58:05 Z /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-its-been-a-big-week-for-the-health-sector/ /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-its-been-a-big-week-for-the-health-sector/ It has been another big week for Health Minister Simeon Brown as he outlined his plan to deliver a better health system for New Zealanders.  At the announcement on Friday, Brown outlined his 5 key health priorities, a shift back to local decision making by July this year - and that NZ Health would return to board governance. What was most interesting was that the Minister already has the cash and plans lined up to achieve the 5 priorities.   Take note, Ministers. This is how to give an impression of action, even if what you’ve claimed as your own has likely been conceived and developed by your predecessor.   Compared to Shane Reti’s quite specific list of 5 key priorities released at the same time last year, Brown has pitched a little broader, but is largely focused on same outcomes. Brown is going for a mix of quick and long term fixes.   Kiwis waiting for elective surgery will be thrilled to hear the Government is investing $50 million between now and the end of June to reduce the backlog - that’s an additional 10,579 procedures and a nice way to shift the stats on one of his priorities.   But this is ‘ambulance at the bottom of the hill’ stuff. And it’s just a short-term sugar hit if they can’t then keep up with future elective surgery demand and wait times. Hence, Brown is now looking to shore up better contracts with private operators to take the load off the public sector in an ongoing capacity.    One obvious issue with this is that the private sector isn’t evenly spread across the country - post code lottery health care, anyone? This approach also relies on the private sector having the capacity to take on more public elective surgery.   Is this another step towards privatising our health care system? Hopefully not. But if it means getting the surgery you have been waiting for, in pain, for a long time, I’m not sure voters will care who is delivering the service as long as it’s prompt and free. Brown's other priorities include making sure Kiwis have timely access to a doctor, reducing ED wait times, and investing in health infrastructure, digital and physical. Earlier in the week, Brown announced an increase in placements and incentives for overseas doctors and nurses to work in primary care, a 24/7 digital service for New Zealanders to access online medical appointments, and a $285 million uplift for general practice over 3 years  General Practitioners Aotearoa welcomes the funding and attention on general practice, but says more information is needed to about how the money will be spent and distributed.  As always, the devil is in the details. Will the $289 million land on the front line, or will it be used to recruit and train these overseas doctors, pay the $30 million for the nurse recruitment initiative, and run the digital service? If so, then how much does that help GP’s take on new patients and achieve the Government's targets? As for digital healthcare - there are already services on the market - not sure if the Government needs to invest in its own.   Only time will tell if the Health Minister is on the right path - but after only minor improvements against targets last year, new minister Brown needs to be seen to take a bigger swing this year, even if he’s borrowing someone else’s homework. LISTEN ABOVE Sat, 08 Mar 2025 21:25:48 Z /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-chinese-warships-in-the-tasman-send-a-clear-message/ /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-chinese-warships-in-the-tasman-send-a-clear-message/ Well, we may have problems getting Chinese tourists back to New Zealand, but the Chinese military seem interested in the region, conducting naval training practices about 130 to 150 nautical miles off the coast of Sydney.  So far, China has complied with international law and the UN Convention on the law on the sea. There is no indication they won’t continue to do so.   This is not an overly aggressive move, but it should give the Government pause for thought - and focus thinking on the state of our navy.  There are some oddities about this mission in the Tasman Sea - oddities that shouldn’t be ignored.   The first is the combination of ships sent our way. Speaking to media yesterday, Prime Minister Luxon said the Chinese warships in the Tasman have different capabilities from what we’ve seen before.   The other oddity is that neither Australia or New Zealand received notice from China that it would be heading our way. No one knows their intentions - where they’re going or why. Nor was there formal warning of what is thought to have been a live fire exercise, causing several commercial airlines to re-rout or change their flight paths.   It was commercial airline staff who picked up unexpected radio messages from the Chinese navy, warning them to divert from an area between New Zealand and Australia where military drills were being carried out.  Given the Tasman is basically a busy harbour bridge for planes flying between Australia and New Zealand, I’d quite like that information to be provided ahead of time - please. The Australian Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, said Australia would normally give 12- 24 hours’ notice of a live firing event.   So what’s going on? It’s quite possible China is responding to the Australian navy conducting ‘freedom of navigation’ exercises off the Chinese coast. A little tit-for-tat - and a reminder of China’s capabilities.   With no one picking up the phone to offer an explanation, perhaps China sees this as an opportunity to see what kind of political and military response this unprecedented move generates from Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand has sent the HSS Te Kaha and a P-8 Poseidon aircraft to monitor the Chinese movements - take that China!   Politically, explanations are being demanded - politely at this stage. Defence Minister Judith Collins has called the Chinese actions unusual, but didn't go so far to call it a show of force by China. But with China's continuing encroachment into the Pacific, and a formalised security deal with the Solomon Islands now in play, surely their intentions is to spend more time in the Tasman Sea. Without a robust response - what's stopping them?   Defence Minister Judith Collins says the presence of three Chinese naval ships off Australia is a wake-up call for New Zealanders. It sure is. We have depleted our defence services, we’re an isolated country that can’t protect ourselves on our own, and we’re very vulnerable to supply chains being disrupted.   Wake-up call received loud and clear.  LISTEN ABOVE Sat, 22 Feb 2025 22:49:44 Z /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-how-can-we-resuscitate-our-attention-spans/ /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-how-can-we-resuscitate-our-attention-spans/ This week, I was reminded of the joy of creating something with my hands.   It was nothing special, in fact they were very average, imperfect, lobsided.   They took two and a half hours to make. It was, by some distance, the longest I focused on a single thing all week.  I was at a ‘wheel throwing’ pottery class. Trying to get my clumsy hands to caress clay into the shape we were aiming for. I got comfortable with failure.   All I thought about for two and half hours was that damn clay. I didn’t look at my phone, think about work, the rest of the day, or even the fact I was splattered in clay.   It was awesome being caught up in the moment. But it brought something else into sharp relief - how terrible my attention span is for the rest of the week.   I’m not a huge fan of New Years' resolutions (how are they going by the way?) but 2025 just may be the year I resuscitated my attention span. According to Dr Gloria Mark, one of the world’s leading ‘attention span’ experts, I was experiencing flow -  a state of deep engagement, total immersion in an activity. It’s a creative experience, with the reward coming from the doing rather than the result. Flow is almost the complete opposite of what we experience in the digital world. Dr Mark’s research shows we spend an average of just 47 seconds on any screen before shifting our attention - she calls this kinetic attention.  You can blame social media, the internet, email, the way apps are designed to manipulate our brains, but it’s still on each of us to decide how we behave online - we’re as distracted we let ourselves be.   The more we flick between screens, the more we multi-task, the busier we are, the more we deplete our attention capacity and executive functioning. We're exhausting ourselves. In her book Attention Span: Finding Focus for a Fulfilling Life, Dr Mark has a huge amount of information on all this. To summarise, if you want to reduce stress and tiredness, she suggests taking breaks to exercise or do a cross word, designing your day around it so you do your hardest thinking when you’re most focused, and sticking to a daily goal.  They’re all simply steps. But they do require conscious effort. Ironically, I followed none of them writing this editorial. Gosh it took forever. I’m hoping that if I throw a little more clay this year the flow will spread to other areas of my life.  So do you have something in your life that totally absorbs you, and it work beautifully to provide fulfilment? Or have you decided this was the year of working on your attention span? How’s it going? Maybe you’ve put down the phone - or put restrictions on your device use. How easy has that been?   LISTEN ABOVE Sat, 15 Feb 2025 21:18:09 Z /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-why-im-okay-with-my-son-leaving-the-nest-for-university/ /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-why-im-okay-with-my-son-leaving-the-nest-for-university/ This weekend, emotional parents will be dropping off and farewelling their offspring off at universities around the country. Some first-year students will be heading into Halls of Residence and some into flats as they begin this new phase of navigating their lives with the kind of independence they’ve dreamt of, but now it’s here in a strange mix of nerves, excitement, and the unknown.   It’s hard to say who will be more emotional about this rite of passage - the students, or their parents.   My first born, my gorgeous, smart, fun-loving Oscar left home on Friday with his father on his way to the University of Canterbury. UC  was the dream, to follow in his parents’ footsteps. Yeah, nah. The dream was to leave home, study, and have an adventure at the same university most of his mates were going to!   After 18 years of being the parent dealing with the more day to day aspects of our son’s life, you’d think I would be an emotional wreck as my baby left home. Strangely I am not.   But seriously, he is so excited and happy with his flat at the Halls, it’s hard not to be excited for him. I will miss him terribly. But I know he’s ready to go, and needs to go, and I believe our mother-son relationship will go to a new level when he does.   I am sure a dip will come in time - it's that old parenting chestnut - when the kid is happy, you’re happy - when they struggle, you struggle. I’m sure there will be tough moments ahead. A lot of my friends and colleagues are going through the same experience this month and everyone is dealing with it differently. But don’t let that make you think you’re alone in your grief.   It is derailing to have the family dynamic change, it’s natural to miss those random incidental conversations with your kid and having everyone around the dinner table and being part of their lives.   Yesterday on Jack Tame’s show, I reviewed a new documentary about 2 talented Northland brothers, Henry and Lewis de Jong, who became world famous at age 16 and 18 with their thrash metal band Alien Weaponry. Their parents have been incredible supportive of their boys - and at one of the boys 21sts - their mum gives a speech, and she says something like this - As a parent it’s important to give your kids roots, and then give them wings.   That’s exactly it. The love doesn’t stop, the support doesn’t stop, we're always going to be there for our kids who are well grounded in who they are - but we've also got to encourage them to fly. I, for one, am also looking forward to a whole lot less washing.   I think another reason why I am not too emotional about it all, is because I feel like I have been preparing for this for a while. Not just since finishing school and doing all the prep to head away.   But I think I struggled with the loss of my gorgeous young boy when puberty hit. That stage when they go from cuddly, overly enthusiastic and communicative to grunters who can’t remember why they crossed the room?   As the parent dealing with the more day to day aspects of our kids’ lives, I grieved for the loss of my little boy. I knew he’d be back, and he is - he’s a gorgeous, smart, kind and happy young man, but I wonder whether that grief mothers experience when their sons are around 13 is an opportunity for them to slowly start preparing to let their boys go at 18.  When he leaves, I will miss him terribly. But I know he’s ready to go, and needs to go, and I believe our mother-son relationship will be going to a new level when he does. And is it bad to say that at this point, it’s a bit of a relief to have one guest check out from the hotel I feel like I run at times? It’s not for long either, he will be back in 8 weeks. LISTEN ABOVE Sat, 08 Feb 2025 23:51:49 Z /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/roman-travers-is-mining-the-best-way-to-boost-new-zealands-economy/ /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/roman-travers-is-mining-the-best-way-to-boost-new-zealands-economy/ Productivity is at all all-time low in New Zealand. Possibly not the most uplifting thing you’ve heard this morning, but sadly, it’s true.   In the year ending March 2023, New Zealand saw a drop in labour productivity by 0.9%, marking one of the biggest falls in recent years.   As a nation, we’ve struggled for decades to improve our productivity levels, despite politicians of all shapes and colours promising solutions.  One of our leading economists, Doctor Eric Crampton, describes productivity nicely. He says the economy as being a bit like a commercial kitchen.  If you take the same set of workers, equipment, and ingredients, and reconfigure the kitchen so that everything runs more smoothly and more patrons can be served, that's a productivity increase.  Coming up with new and tastier recipes using the same amount of ingredients and effort - that's also a productivity increase.  For economists, productivity isn't about making everyone work harder.  It's instead about finding better ways of doing things, better processes, and discovering new products and services that provide more value for the same amount of time, effort, and materials.  So… because we appear to be consistently useless in the productivity kitchen, once again, we’re talking about get rich quick schemes for New Zealand.  And at the coalface of all the desperation to do better, to make more money and to get New Zealand back in the black - is mining.   So what’s mining worth to New Zealand? Mining makes a significant contribution to the New Zealand economy, particularly in the regional areas where mining takes place.  7,000 people are employed in the extractives sector and the economic contribution is $2.61 billion to GDP annually.  It’s fair to say that mining products make a major contribution to New Zealand and its economy. But how does that compare to tourism? Mining is all about taking, exploiting the land and digging your way to the bottom of a limited commodity.  Before COVID-19, tourism was New Zealand's largest export industry and delivered $40.9 billion to the country. 40.9 billion - compared to mining with 2.61.  Tourism made a significant positive impact on many of our regional economies supporting employment by directly employing 8.4 percent of the New Zealand workforce. Mining employs about 7000 people.  It’s pretty obvious that those numbers could well and truly be increased for mining if we completely lost our collective marbles and allowed more of the massive overseas owned companies to come here and ‘dig baby dig’ or 'drill baby drill' - or to expand on what they’re already doing. What’s more obvious to me though, is the yet to be realised ability to increase tourism numbers, to get more people interested in coming to New Zealand with their strong currencies, deep pockets, and desire to buy what we have on offer.   We have to remember that one of the key reasons why tourists want to come here, is that we haven’t yet completely destroyed the ecological aspects that make this great nation so unique and desirable.  九一星空无限 travels fast - and if we expand upon the very businesses that have left parts of the world looking like a post-apocalyptic movie set, then we effectively kill the kiwi that consistently lays the very large golden eggs.   Do we want to be compared to the Pilbara Region of Western Australia?   It’s time we thought about the longevity of tourism and the very limited lifespan of mining, so that we can collectively orchestrate the best path forward economically. For all New Zealanders, not just those who scratch the backs of politicians, with the questionable expectations that follow.  Tourism is the closest we’ll ever get to making New Zealand rich with the ‘take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints’ ethos.  There’s no way the same can be said for mining.   No matter how the industry tries to dress the concept up.  Stick it in high heels, give it a coat of makeup, or a designer dress - it’s still ugly.  Any increase to mining is quite literally a race to the bottom.  LISTEN ABOVE Sat, 01 Feb 2025 21:08:33 Z /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-can-the-government-get-tourism-numbers-back-up/ /on-air/the-sunday-session/opinion/francesca-rudkin-can-the-government-get-tourism-numbers-back-up/ As you probably picked up from Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s State of the Nation speech on Thursday, 2025 is apparently all about financial growth and saying ‘yes’. Those are two trends I am trying to adopt in our house for 2025 as well, especially saying ‘yes’ when I ask someone to do something...    I digress, back to the nation.    Before COVID-19, tourism was New Zealand's largest export industry, so it’s clear why the Prime Minister and his newly minted Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis have identified it as a priority area for the country to earn more.  Data released in January reveals that in the year ending November 2024, visitor numbers increased to 3.26 million, an increase of 360,000 from the previous year, and 86 percent of pre-pandemic levels.    So, the numbers are going in the right direction, but international tourism still remains our second highest export. There is more work to do!   New Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston is the fifth minister to hold the portfolio in five years - so some stability in the portfolio is a good place to start.  Nicola Willis has suggested the new Minister will look at how funding is currently being used, the visa processing system, and marketing campaigns. All good places to start - although you’d have hoped this happened when the coalition came to power over a year ago.   The Minister will also be looking at how funding from the international visitor levy is being spent, after the levy increased from $35 to $100 in October last year.  Increasing levies, adding user charges and targeted taxes on visitors has been recommended by MBIE in the past as a way to fund tourism - and we have seen DOC increase hut and campsite fees and the trialling of car parking charges at Punakaiki, Franz Josef Glacier, and Aoraki Mount Cook.   But what about the visitor bed tax? Perhaps a crude idea in 2020 when hotels were empty; but with the industry recovering - is it time to resurrect the idea? Auckland Council has long advocated to central Government that some form of bed night levy or tax is required to support funding major events, destination marketing and visitor attractions. If one is not implemented by the middle of this year, there will be a budget gap to fund major events.  The Government is not buying into the idea that tourism needs infrastructure support. In their view, if regions get more tourists then they can deal with it themselves.   When it comes to one of our busiest tourist spots, the Government is very quick to point out that Queenstown is getting a $250 million roading upgrade.   But that’s not enough. As Queenstown mayor Glyn Lewers told me on Early Edition this week - “I’d welcome more tourists if there is a proviso that the infrastructure to support and accommodate more tourists and visitors is accounted for”. He pointed out Queenstown’s airport needs to be better staffed with more customs and security staff to function well as an international airport.    We all want growth and a thriving tourism industry. But we also want it to be sustainable - avoiding the degradation and overcrowding of our wilderness, pressure on infrastructure, and communities carrying the cost.   So, if the Government wants growth - and tourism back in the number 1 export earner spot - it should perhaps consider putting in a little bit more so it can get more out.    LISTEN ABOVE Sat, 25 Jan 2025 21:34:33 Z