Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

About Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

Join Kerre Woodham one of New Zealand’s best loved personalities as she dishes up a bold, sharp and energetic show Monday to Friday 9am-12md on Newstalk ZB. News, opinion, analysis, lifestyle and entertainment – we’ve got your morning listening covered.

Publisher

Newstalk ZB

Category

news

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

15 Jan 2019

Latest episode

9 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

2,125 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   9 Oct 2026

   Grant McCallum: Northland MP discusses National's plan to implement random drug testing for Jobseeker beneficiaries

   Northland's MP believes National's plan to introduce drug testing for beneficiaries is a smart move. It's proposing ten thousand random drug tests next year – ramping up over the years. It also wants to reduce payments from April 2028 for people who've collected it for two of the previous three years, with a smaller cut for those with children. Grant McCallum told Kerre Woodham there are employers who have casual work or things like fruit picking available, but can't get workers because they can't pass a drug test. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

2. 

   9 Oct 2026

   Matt Wood: Maritime NZ Principal Advisor for Recreational Craft on the nationwide lifejacket rule coming into force

   Everyone on board vessels up to six metres in length must wear a lifejacket, starting from today. Maritime NZ says the nationwide rule means all people heading out on the water have a better chance of coming home. On average, 17 people die in recreational boating accidents each year, with two thirds not wearing properly-fitted jackets. Maritime NZ's Matt Wood told Kerre Woodham the rule change not only lifts the minimum standard nationally, but removes the regional differences, which makes the overall messaging clearer. He says they believe it will make a tangible difference, as when this rule was introduced in Tasmania in 2001, fatal boating numbers halved straight away and have stayed that way since. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

3. 

   8 Oct 2026

   Kerre Woodham: National's beneficiary drug testing policy looks desperate and cynical

   Anybody who is taking money from the rest of us because they can't find a job should be ready, willing, and able to work when work is there to get. There should be an unwritten contract, and I think there is amongst most of us, that we as New Zealanders look after our fellow New Zealanders when they need a hand up until they can get back on their feet and get back into providing for themselves and providing for others who might suffer misfortune. And if people are simply using the money the rest of us are giving them to sit around at home and do drugs or skip off to the beach with their barbecue or wander through the wheat fields whistling, then sure, of course there should be penalties. But why didn't National introduce the "get tough on druggy beneficiaries" when they were running the government, when they introduced traffic light rules around beneficiaries in the welfare system? If they believed in it so strongly, why didn't they do it then? To do it now, to say, "oh well, vote for us and this'll happen", when they're languishing in the polls looks desperate and cynical and plays into the hands of their opponents. "Oh, we're not polling well. I know, let's bash druggy beneficiaries because the punters will love that." And indeed the punters will. But unemployment is at an 11 year high. The economy is not booming despite the promises National made last election. Drug use is rampant and while that I do not believe is something the Government can fix, the need for more detox centres and public rehab clinics is acute. Total government-funded mental health and addiction beds tracked by Health New Zealand increased from 1,317 to 1,368 over the past 12 months. An extra 51 beds is great, but that's like sticking your finger in the dyke, the need is so great. Perhaps 5,100 beds would be more meaningful and make more of an impact. What do you do if you live in Kaitaia or Moerewa or Ohakune where sawmills are closing and factories are shutting down? No, if you're not going to sit around and take drugs, you're going to move to Australia. That's what you're going to do. I do not think it is unreasonable to expect people to be ready for work when they're taking money from you and me, but I do think we need to be slightly more aware that for some young people and definitely for some older people, finding a job in a recession that's been engineered and that hasn't recovered as quickly as the Government promised might be a bit tough. And that addiction services might need more funding to try and get people off their drugs and more ready for work. Had National announced a one two yesterday, drug testing for beneficiaries and more funding for rehab, I might believe the assertions that it's all about the young people. As it is, I think yesterday's announcement was more about helping their list MPs claw their way back into Parliament. See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

Who has been a guest on Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Chris Hipkins
• Moana Theodore
• Caryn Zinn
• Mark Bloomberg
• Greg Murphy

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

7,631,690

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 82 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

94

Social presence

0

YouTube

93

Engagement

85

Contact Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast