Andrew Dickens Afternoons

Two dead in Palmerston North and one in hospital.  Another heartbreaking statistic after a police chase. The fifth and sixth death this year after chases
Once again there’s a call for police chases to either stop or be further regulated and reduced.
But these deaths weren’t the responsibility of the police but the driver who chose not to obey the law. 
In this case, it was a 15 year old.  A 15 year old driving a stolen car.  A 15 year old who was out on bail after previous serious driving offences. A kid who was speeding around at 1.30 in the afternoon on a Monday.  A kid who should have been at school.  A kid that has been left to run feral. Where are the parents and what have they taught him.  If there was a cause to this crash it probably lies 15 years ago when this person was born into a life of no future.
The other victim.  A girl.  Aged 12. Another who should have been in school.  Why was a 12 year old gallivanting about town with a 15 year old with a record in a stolen car.  Again where were the parents.  Today it turns out her brother died five years ago in a similar police chase in New South Wales.  It seem to run in the family
Now some in the office warned me that saying these sorts of things now was too soon. That the family would be grieving.  I’m sorry for your loss and I understand your despair but to wait a week to say this means the lesson is far away from all our minds.  If there’s anything to come from this then maybe it can prevent other families going through your pain.
Kids are kids.  They should not be stealing or driving and they should be in school.  It’s free.
But it is prudent to continually monitor police chases. It’s also appropriate to acknowledge that our death rate in police chases is 26 times that of Queensland which doesn’t pursue vehicles. So the risk involved means that the chase should only be when completely necessary.
Was this chase necessary?  Well, an investigation will reveal that.
But in my opinion, it was not.  The boy was known to police.  His whereabouts were known.  He was not an unknown criminal fleeing the scene of a bank robbery or assault. It was a teen driving illegally. He was clocked.  He was identified. And then he was dead.
As one police officer said yesterday, they’d rather pull an offender out of their bed at dawn than out of the wreck of a crashed and burning car.
But that’s easy to say with 20/20 hindsight.

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It was a sad start to my working day today.
As I sat down to my desk at 10am I turned on the radio to hear that Dick Quax had died after a 5 year battle with cancer
Theodorus Jacobus Leonardus Quax. Runner, councillor, scrapper.
When I was a kid my Dad got me a book called Kiwis Can Fly by Ivan Agnew. It was about New Zealand’s golden age of athletics in the 70s and it focused on John Walker’s achievements particularly his achievement in Goteburg when he became the first man to run the mile under 3 minutes 50. I loved that book. 
The book’s magic was the way it concentrated on the three musketeers of athletics. Walker, Rod Dixon and Dick Quax. It was a boys own adventure as the trio travelled the world in the days of shamateurism. When athletes received pay for performance but it came in brown paper envelopes and under the table. My copy is signed by all three men.
Couch surfing and making ends meet in Europe the 3 hunted competition and improvement. Walker’s achievements ware well known.  Rod Dixon found his fame at the New York marathon. But Dick Quax was my favourite because what he did was amazing but always underappreciated.
At the 1970 Commonwealth Games he was the first of the new generation to find success but it was a silver medal.  At the 76 Olympics he also fell agonisingly short in the 5000 metres, pipped at the post for a gold by a Finn called Lasse Viren, who was widely thought to be blood doping. Viren always used to credit reindeer milk which was a terrible euphemism.
But Dick Quax did get his world record, again in the 5000 metres, which was something Walker and Dixon never achieved. He is one of just 3 New Zealanders to get a world record over an Olympic distance joining Snell and Halberg.
But he never joined the pantheon of those legends. It may be that he was a competitive and combative man. He was never the quiet hero our nation seems to prefer. Even in the book Kiwis Can Fly the dust cover features Walker and Dixon but not Quax.
After athletics he ended out in council and again his combative nature rubbed some up the wrong way. But one could never doubt his passion and conviction and his dedication to public service.
I met Dick numerous times. A fast talker full of energy. He always reminded me of a Jack Russell. But boy he had some stories. I didn’t support a lot of his positions but I loved his commitment and company.
So today he passed away at the age of 70. An age which doesn’t seem so old to me these days.
The world is now a poorer place without Dick Quax. This passionate, energetic, great New Zealander who broke the mould and took our country to the world.

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Ladi6 and Noah Slee are among the winners of the 2018 Vodafone Pacific Music Awards.
The awards, held last night at the Vodafone Event Centre in Manukau, honoured both past winners and up-and-coming stars, with Punialava'a taking out the 2018 Manukau Institute of Technology Lifetime Achievement Award.
The group, who were acknowledged for their influence and contribution to Samoan music and culture, also performed a medley of their biggest hits at the ceremony.
Ladi6 received three awards, including Best Pacific Female Artist and Best Pacific Music Album. Her producers Parks, Brandan Haru and Julien Dyne won the SIT/MAINZ Best Producer award for their work on her Royal Blue 3000 EP.
12-year-old prodigy General Fiyah's 2017 hit Here To Stay earned him the APRA Best Pacific Song and the Vodafone People's Choice Award.
Here To Stay was also honoured with the NZ On Air Best Pacific Music Video for filmmaker Samson Rambo.
Berlin-based neo-soul singer Noah Slee won Best Pacific Male Artist and Best Pacific Urban Artist, while reggae group Tomorrow People won Best Pacific Group.
The inaugural NZ On Air Streaming Award was given to Kings for his song We'll Never Know, while Brooke Fraser was recognised with the NZ On Air Radio Airplay award for Therapy.
The full list of winners can be found at www.pacificmusicawards.org.nz.
LISTEN TO HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SHOW ABOVE

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Pene Pati is best known as one third of Sol3 Mio, but he has a burgeoning opera career separate from his famous trio.
He is back in New Zealand from San Francisco, not to reunite with his group just yet, but to star in New Zealand Opera's next production, The Elixir of Love
Joining him on stage will be his wife, Amina Edris.
The two joined Andrew Dickens to talk about how they met and what the production is all about.
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW ABOVE

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A wise move from MPI to give farmers a choice on whether to continue depopulating their farms or delay the culling of cattle.
An official decision on whether to eradicate or manage the disease Mycoplasma bovis will be made on Monday.
MPI says all farmers bar one whose properties are due to be depopulated from this weekend have decided to go ahead with culling.
Executive producer of The Country Rowena Duncum told Andrew Dickens there's been a lot of talk about New Zealand's naivety in thinking we can still eradicate the disease - but that's not the case.
"You've got to think of the impact on the cows, the impact on the farmers, there's economic impacts here if the cows are aborting their calves. It's not just a child getting the sniffles, it is a very, very serious disease."
LISTEN TO ROWENA DUNCUM TALK WITH ANDREW DICKENS ABOVE

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The North Korea summit is off. What a surprise. And there goes that much-hyped peace prize.
I heard a commentator say this morning that Donald Trump was walking into a trap and I agree with that. A trap set by Kim. Another commentator also said that Kim had the upper hand which I also agree with.
Trump jumped in too soon. I said it at the time. The Koreans have offered summits for the past 70 years, but American Presidents have always turned them down unless North Korea made changes first. Trump lost his mojo with the summit offer, and he appears to have realised it.
In all the talk today, one word has been missing and that word is China. They’re the real power brokers here. Kim has been to Beijing twice this year and stopped his threats when China turned off the energy tap at the beginning of the year.
So, what does China want? They want stability. They want North Korea as a buffer so they don’t have America on their border. Meanwhile, what does America want? They want Kim gone and his people liberated, and free. And what does Kim want? Well, he certainly doesn’t want to end up like Gaddafi.
We have got a long way to go to find an acceptable answer for all the parties.

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The Phil Twyford gaffe is unfortunate. Especially after it was revealed earlier, that the public transport minister was the biggest user of the crown limo fleet.
This all played out by the rulebook. He offered to resign, it was turned down, he lost Civil Aviation, which had to happen. You can’t be in charge of the rules and then be caught breaking them.
The real question is why did he think his phone call was so important that he couldn’t wait an hour to reply. I know it was budget day but hello. Phil is like so many of us these days, enthralled to the phone and their own self-importance.
I don’t even answer the phone on buses these days. Why should a bus full of strangers be forced to listen in to my conversation?
The smartphone is amazing, and a revolution in communication but modern society has formed an unhealthy addiction. Don’t be afraid to turn it off.
Remember, you’re in charge of the phone, the phone is not in charge of you.

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TVNZ's new streaming service has one key aim: to increase the amount of Kiwi content available to kids. Chris Schulz and Karl Puschmann investigate.
Ask Amie Mills why Kiwi kids need to see themselves on TV, and she'll pause, apologise for pausing, then say this: "I lose words when I think about how important it is."
Mills, the children's commissioner for TVNZ, explains her loss of words with a shocking piece of research: "We've had some fascinating conversations with teachers. They're astounded by how many children are turning up to school aged 5 with American accents."
Kiwi kids starting school with American accents? What gives? How does this happen? By watching too many American TV shows via American streaming services, that's how.
Heihei hopes to change all that. The NZ On Air-funded online streaming service launches next week with the express aim of increasing the amount of New Zealand-orientated content available to kids.
It's ad-free, features shows that use New Zealand people, place names and te reo, and uses Kiwi kids or characters wherever possible.
Mills believes that's an important mandate to follow.
"I can't think of anything more important as a child growing up to see and hear yourself (on screen)," she says.
"My hope is that we've got kids reconnecting with New Zealand stories, places, sounds, and we build up that love of local content."
Heihei lives up to that statement by launching with 50 shows, 38 of which are made locally.
They range from live action shows like Fanimals and The Moe Show, to animated cartoons Barefoot Bandits and Darwin and Newts.
Mills says Kiwi content has always been created here, but often gets lost across various streaming platforms.
Heihei, she says, is the first to bring it all together.
Aimed at 5- to 9-year-olds, it's not just a television streaming service, offering games and stories that are often related to other shows on the platform.
"It's a gateway for parents so they can find other things that are great for kids," she explains.
While some international shows are in the mix, like Peppa Pig, Mills says they'll be watching their performance closely to see if they resonate as much as local ones.
"Do kids fiend off those? Do they need to be part of the mix? We spent a lot of time finding content that wasn't just straight American content. We just want it to feel a bit more high quality," she says.
So far, the feedback for Heihei has been positive, and a presentation to 90 content creators last week went well.
"Producers were saying, 'It feels like we've been given a new lease of life here to make content for kids in the digital age that we haven't been able to do with the constraints of linear TV'," she says.
But Mills believes the best is yet to come, with new shows broadening Heihei's offerings commissioned throughout the rest of the year.
"We don't have a kids news show, what does that look like?" she asks. "I can't wait for it to be out there so we can look at the stats ... and get involved with schools and teachers.
"There's a vision we can work towards. It feels like this platform gives longevity to kids content now."
LISTEN TO CHRIS SCHULZ TALK ABOUT THE STORY WITH ANDREW DICKENS ABOVE

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When opponents of the government phone this show, one refrain you often hear is that this is government is one of broken promises. They’re being held to promises made on the election trail which are yet to become real. There is a kernel of truth to this.
Take police numbers. Labour promised 1,800 and have delivered 1,100 in the recent budget. The opposition pointed out this was a broken promise. The government argued that they’ll get to that target by the end of their term. So is this a broken promise or not. The truth is in the eye of the beholder.
The latest broken promise is the abolition of the decile system in our schools. Education Minister, Chris Hipkins, says it will go but not until they have a better way of getting resources to the disadvantaged. This could take a while. The government’s problem with the decile system is that it stigmatises a school. Tell a school it’s decile 2 and you’re telling the world it’s not as good as a decile 8.
Now I’m sorry but this is political correctness, it’s fear of offence. My mother was a teacher at a decile 3 school for many years. The principal always said our school is poor yet proud. They were proud that their educational outcomes were as good as any other school from wealthier districts. Their decile rating was not a hindrance or offence
But what are Chris Hipkins choices? If they want to get the funding where it needs to go and they’re not prepared to target schools then they’d have to target individual kids and wouldn’t that stigmatise individual children and families in a close school environment? The only other choice is one of universality where every school gets the same funding which would defeat the purpose of wanting to lift the poor.
As we saw from the Winter Heating Payment this is a government who doesn’t like targeting because it might hurt some people’s feelings. They don’t like to call a spade a spade. But with the Winter Heating Payment it is now estimated that $20 million of funding will go to households that don’t need it. Which seems a waste. As someone emailed me, we already have a targeting system and that’s the community services card. Why not give the winter heating payment to cardholders?
Targeting is not offensive. It’s truthful and while the decile system seems blunt it’s probably the best way of ensuring taxpayer help heads to the right people

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As the country gets closer towards winter, the subject of how to keep your home warm is back on the agenda. 

Caller Shirley has her views on how to heat your home and the amount of money people are currently getting, and shared them with Andrew Dickens today.
LISTEN TO SHIRLEY CHAT WITH ANDREW ABOVE

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