Andrew Dickens Afternoons

There is no doubt that Simon Bridges had a good weekend at the National Party Conference.
Saturday was a bit wobbly as he announced the new slogan 'Our bottom line is you'. I understand what they’re trying to say but it’s just a bit obtuse and awkward and includes the word bottom which some cringe worthy people find titillating. 
And I see that people are already drawing cartoons and making jokes along the lines that Mr Bridges knows all about the bottom line because that’s where his personal polling is at.
But Sunday he came out charging with some strong TV interviews and a keynote address where he announced a policy that gave $200 million to the fight against cancer.  The money is there to fund drugs and to form an agency to co-ordinate cancer treatment around the nation. 
No one is against fighting cancer.  In fact the whole idea of an agency is something that Labour campaigned on in 2017.  So in essence, National was taking Labour’s policy and pointing out how tardy and slow they are in delivering change.
But there’s a little piece of me that found the whole thing a little distasteful and cynical. A cancer agency is not something that National has ever campaigned on or talked about including in the 9 years of it’s last term.  In fact, in 2015 they actually cancelled the independent cancer committee which was charged with overseeing and improving nationwide cancer services.  National has always been leery of centralisation and nationalisation of anything including health services.
But they’ve been watching Blair Vining making headlines for a month as he brought in an extraordinary petition calling for improvements in the way we fight cancer and you get the feeling that they thought they’d just ride along on the coat tails.
Health Minister David Clark criticised the national policy as being short on detail which I believe is true. On the National Party website I can only find two A4 pages with details on how the $200 million will be utilised. 
In essence $50 miilion a year will be ring fenced for cancer drugs for four years which to be honest is a drop in the ocean and very close to inflation adjustment anyway.  Meanwhile it estimates the cancer agency will cost $10 million a year to implement.  That’s $40 million over 4 years which is on top of the $200 million. 
And let’s just stop for a minute and consider Blair Vining’s case. New drug funding wouldn’t have helped Blair. What he needed was better screening and faster consultation. 
If we’re serious about the battle against cancer, we need to be catching it earlier with efficient screening programmes, not funding expensive and experimental drugs to fund late stage cancer suffering that should have been caught quicker.
I don’t think National’s thought this out at all and I have no proof that Labour has either even though David Clark says he’s going to announce their strategy within weeks. Sure you are. - you have to because National called your bluff.
Labour’s just as bad at playing a cynical game with health funding and people’s lives. 'Mental Health' was the buzzword around budget time and they gave $1.9 billion to it. But now they’ve got roadshows going round the country trying to work out what to do with the money. How can you decide a budget when you don’t even know what it’s for?
This politicisation of health care infuriates me. The structure and quality of healthcare should not be dependent  on whatever party is in power. Healthcare is not a philosophy. Healthcare is a science and an exercise in logistics. All politicians should be doing is ensuring the funding based on expert advice.

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A reminder to the Black Caps and their fans that a game is just a game.
The Black Caps have lost to England in the Cricket World Cup final on a technicality, after pulling off the first tie in World Cup history.
A number of people around the Newstalk ZB newsroom are still coming to terms with what transpired. 
Psychotherapist Kyle MacDonald says it will take a while for the team to come to terms with the loss.
But he says both players, and fans, need to keep the game in perspective.
"It's incredibly meaningful for anyone who follows it, but ultimately it's completely meaningless. It's a great time to be philosophical!" 
For a different perspective, NZ Herald Business Editor Liam Dann told Andrew Dickens that a new report from the Harvard Business Review can put the loss into perspective. 
"It's often not possible to write a failure, correct a failure, especially not when you are a spectator in a sporting game, but it is always possible to make things worse by overreacting."
Try telling that to all those still fuming over the overthrows rule...

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Auckland Mayor Phil Goff proposes cheaper fares for families, children on Auckland's public transport.
Meanwhile Hamilton mayor Andrew King wants free public transport for all city residents
Jessica called Andrew Dickens to talk about the rising cost of paying for her children's transport.

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People caring for disabled family no longer have to be employed by the person they care for.
It's part of changes to Funded Family Care policy, which will allow partners to be paid to look after their disabled or ill loved ones.
The policy had required the person with high needs to employ their carer.
Newstalkzb's political editor Barry Soper told Andrew Dickens it's a more realistic way to cover a very difficult time.

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It was with some expectation that the family and I sat down in front of the television last night to watch the first part of a two-part documentary series called “That’s a Bit Racist”.
It takes a lot to get people to turn on the free to air TV these days.  It needs to be appointment viewing. It needs to be something where you feel you want to be part of a community viewing and experiencing something simultaneously. 
That’s why the TV that we still watch in any numbers anymore is something like the news, which constantly pulls half a million of us.  Or sports finals.  Or The Chase, just because Bradley and the Chasers are just so good – and we’re waiting for the news.
So we were keen to see this programme.  The timing was right.  The Mosque shooting, even though by an Australian, was racism writ large and it followed Taika Waititi’s blunt assessment of us in front to the world’s media last year as a nation that is “racist as f…!”.  It was time for a reappraisal of race relations in New Zealand.
I was keen to see an investigation into how racism manifests itself in 2019 because it has changed.  40 years of the Waitangi Tribunal, 40 years of positive action, 40 years of education has succeeded in convincing most people that racism is a nasty, vindictive and destructive force in society.  But in doing so it has forced racism underground.  In my opinion, racism in 2019 is not blatant, but subtle and nuanced and insidious. Casual racism is rife.  Blatant racism is hidden.  So how does racism work today.
That is not what we got.  What we got was a dumbed down, biased and selective history of racism in New Zealand.
We got a foul mouthed man screaming down the camera about the Settlements Act of 1863 as though it happened yesterday.  We got Oscar Kightley reminiscing about the Dawn Raids of the 70s. We find out that most of the people the programme stopped in the street had no idea of who Sir Apirana Ngata is even though he’s on $50 note 
But worse still was the sops to entertainment.  The casually racist comedian dropping racist tropes but we’re allowed to laugh at those jokes because the joke teller was brown.  The tongue in cheek Play School where poor old Manu always got the raw deal, which reached its climax when the presenter just casually threw the doll away.
The whole thing seemed to be achieving the opposite of its intention.  In reiterating the dark acts of racism past and showing that behaviour it perpetuated those bad days. I posted on Facebook right after the programme and said as much and asked people what they thought of it.
All were disappointed.  All hated the simplistic and biased nature of it.  One person said “I feel like as a Pakeha I’m meant to go flog myself hundred times with a horsehair whip”.
Billie said this “It's probably one of the worst things I've watched.   Stirring racial disharmony, and attempting to get laughs out of a serious and touchy topic in a very patronising way. NZ doesn't need this hatred. TV1 should be ashamed.”
I spoke to Alan Duff on my Sunday programme and he made a very good point.  He says there’s money in continuing victimhood.  There’s money for academics who write reports saying events from 200 years ago are still responsible for outcomes today.  There’s money for people who keep telling their people they’re useless. There’s money for TV programmes that tell the white majority they’re  terrible people.  A lot was spent last night on a very poor show.
There’s another episode next week.  Is it too much to hope that they consider the improvements this nation has made and offer a road map for the future?  Based on last night’s waste of money, I doubt it.

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OPINION
So what dispiriting news.
Turns out the emissions of households in New Zealand have risen by 20% in a decade.
We’re using more cars.  Our households consume and dispose more stuff.  We fly everywhere more often because it’s never been cheaper. 
Meanwhile down on the farms emission from sheep, beef, deer and poultry are down very slightly on 10 years ago.  Well done lads. But dear old dairy is up contributing more emissions than the manufacturing and electricity and gas supply industries combined, rising 27 per cent over a decade.
This is the reality.  Despite all the awareness and all the well meaning changes we’ve had a crack at we’re worse than ever. That includes all the greenies who hector us.  That includes all the striking school children who say nobody’s listening or acting and then pop off with Mum and Dad in the July school holidays for a carbon belching  road trip or Pacific Island holiday. Talk is cheap and walking the walk is hard. 
That said, we would have been even dirtier if we hadn’t made the changes I know many of us have made.  It would be easy to take this disappointing news and give up.  But one thing I’ve realised as time goes by is that the best change is achieved through evolution and not revolution.  The people who claim they can turn the supertanker that is society are dreamers.  You know the ones.  The ones who bellow about transformation.  We’re always transforming, the important thing is to transform the right way.  
There’s a Japanese word for that.  Kaizen.  Basically it means improvement but it’s improvement that is continuous.  A constant process of getting better and better. And in business the Japnese use Kaizen to say that the continuous improvement of functions extend from the CEO to the assembly line workers. That’s what we need to do as a community in all things. Every day
In this job I see too many people finding a chink in any argument and then using that chink to dismiss the whole idea.  That’s the recipe for standing still and everyone and everything that stands still is in fact falling behind.
I guess what I’m saying is that for a better country.  A better planet.  A better family.  A better job.  A better everything.  Then you have to keep making yourself better every day
Leighton always used to worry that little by little, bit by bit, our society was getting worse.  But the opposite is also true.  Little by little, bit by bit we can be better.

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Jacinda Ardern's mettle will be tested today as she unveils her first Cabinet reshuffle since becoming Prime Minister.
Newstalkzb's political editor Barry Soper says Ardern's been playing it down, as minor so significant change is unlikely.
He told Andrew Dickens that issues like KiwiBuild, Karel Sroubek and several DHB debacles could come back to haunt Ministers.
"The difficulty is will Phil Twyford keep his Housing portfolio. The other people who will be sweating will be Iain-Leses Galloway and his handling of the Karel Sroubek affair. David Clark, the Health Minister, will probably survive but the District Health Board's have gone through all sorts of problems."
Soper says that Ardern has defended Twyford's role in the KiwiBuild stuff-up, but says his role could still be tweaked. 
On the other hand, Soper predicts Kris Faafoi will be popping the champagne tonight.
"Faafoi is a Minister outside of Cabinet, so he will probably step up today." 
He says that Meka Whaitiri could be reinstated as there is some pressure from the party's Maori caucus. 
The announcement's expected at 3:15pm.

Jacinda Ardern's mettle will be tested today as she unveils her first Cabinet reshuffle since becoming Prime Minister.
Newstalkzb's political editor Barry Soper says Ardern's been playing it down, as minor so significant change is unlikely.
He told Andrew Dickens that issues like KiwiBuild, Karel Sroubek and several DHB debacles could come back to haunt Ministers.
"The difficulty is will Phil Twyford keep his Housing portfolio. The other people who will be sweating will be Iain-Leses Galloway and his handling of the Karel Sroubek affair. David Clark, the Health Minister, will probably survive but the District Health Board's have gone through all sorts of problems."
Soper says that Ardern has defended Twyford's role in the KiwiBuild stuff-up, but says his role could still be tweaked. 
On the other hand, Soper predicts Kris Faafoi will be popping the champagne tonight.
"Faafoi is a Minister outside of Cabinet, so he will probably step up today." 
He says that Meka Whaitiri could be reinstated as there is some pressure from the party's Maori caucus. 
The announcement's expected at 3:15pm.

If I have one fault it’s that I’m too nice. That and my obvious lack of humility.
My mum always used to say 'you’re so even, Andrew'. That was because I never really get angry and I don’t want to cause unnecessary bother for anyone.
But Dad used to say that was a weakness. 'The squeaky wheel gets the oil, Andrew'. But I just can’t do that. I’m not good at stamping my feet or saying no.
But I’m learning that the squeaky wheels do get attention.  And that most people are like me. Good people who don’t want to cause a fuss or be a burden.
And it’s led me to wonder whether everything is what it seems.  I was thinking that yesterday when we saw a Wellness survey which showed only 1.1 per cent of New Zealanders identified themselves as gay or lesbian and 2 per cent as bisexual.  Presumable people who identify as other colours of the rainbow are even fewer. I was genuinely surprised by that finding.
But considering how much of the national conversation centres around  LGBTIQ issues, despite the low numbers, you have to say that they are definitely a squeaky wheel and they definitely get oil. Not that I hold that against them since the overwhelming majority have been pretty horrible to them through the centuries.
But it also made me wonder how many other issues are fired on by a vocal minority (otherwise known as the squeaky wheels) and how many national perceptions have been skewed by them. And then in turn how that makes government actions impotent.
For instance, there is no doubt that Maori are disproportionately represented in the bad statistics such as prisoners, child abuse and substance abuse.  But that is not a true picture of the entire population who on the whole are hard working, productive, decent members of society and their families, hapu and iwi. The hardcore are hardcore and not many in number
There is also no doubt that there are pockets of poverty in this country and there are people and children in material deprivation. But when the government came in and lifted the welfare spend by $5.5 billion a few months after they assumed office it seemed to make no difference to the poverty statistics. 
Food banks and social housing providers are still run off their feet. But overwhelmingly most people have a roof over their head and a meal in their belly. The hardcore are the hardcore but not many in number
And then we have the revelation from a select committee yesterday that most schools will be worse off under the new measures announced by the government to get rid of school donations. We also know that the measure is threatening things like school camps.  The gestation of the policy came because of the perception that school donations were a step too far for too many families in the lower decile areas.  But this does not seem to be the case.  Because most people even if poor are willing to help fund their child’s education.  The donation defaulters are the hardcore but not many in numbers.
It all goes towards the government’s moves to help the hardcore. The perception of the breadth of problems means they apply universal aid.  Universal aid to help pensioners heat their homes.  Universal aid to help poor people go to uni.  But the problems are not universal.
I have always said that Bill English was on to something with his social investment model.  It means targeting and some sensitive souls take offence at that.  But it would have meant the money and the aid would go to the hardcore and not those who don’t need it.
And I’ve also always said that the vast majority of New Zealanders live responsibly and well in a fantastic country.  So don’t let the hardcore convince you we don’t.

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People who identify as bisexual are more likely to have worse mental wellbeing than heterosexual Kiwis, according to new data.
For the first time, Statistics New Zealand's General Social Survey (GSS) included information about people's sexual identity.
The figures show that 1.9 per cent of Kiwis identify as bisexual and 1.1 per cent said they were gay or lesbian.
Almost seven in 10 of those who identified as bisexual were female, while six in 10 people who identified as gay/lesbian were male.

Some 96.5 per cent of New Zealanders identified as being heterosexual.

The remaining 0.5 per cent of people identified as other identities, including either takatāpui, asexual and pansexual.
LISTEN ABOVE AS ANDREW DICKENS TALKS TO CALLER MICHAEL 
Stats NZ's general manager Jason Attewell said the new data highlights wellbeing disparities and will help the Government to better address some of the concerns.
When it comes to measuring overall life satisfaction, people who identified as bisexual were the least satisfied with life.
Stats NZ data showed that close to 8 out of 10 adults rated their overall life satisfaction at 7 out of 10 or higher.
But, on the same measure, just 6 out of 10 bisexual people rated their life satisfaction as a seven or above.
"The lower life satisfaction rating for people identifying as bisexual was reflected across a number of wellbeing measures," the report said.
For example, a third of people who identified as bisexual reported having poor mental wellbeing.
That compares to roughly a fifth of adults who reported having poor mental wellbeing.
Meanwhile, the data showed that people who identified as gay/lesbian or bisexual found it "significantly harder to express their identity than Kiwis who identified as heterosexual.
Some 74 per cent of gay/lesbian, and 70 per cent of bisexual people, found it "very easy" to express their identity.
That number is 85 per cent compared with heterosexual people.
Stats NZ officials say that the next GSS – which will be released in 2020 – will include statistics on gender identity and people's "sex at birth".
In terms of New Zealander's overall wellbeing, the majority of Kiwis – some 80 per cent – rated their life satisfaction highly, a 7 out of 10 or higher on the wellbeing scale.

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