Andrew Dickens Afternoons

The number of arrests in New Zealand for strangulation could be just the tip of the iceberg. Figures this morning reveal that since a new violence law came into effect in December making strangling or suffocating a partner an criminal offence, police have arrested 416 - or the equivalent of five a day.The shocking figures have outraged Andrew Dickens, who says that the figures are "incredible"."This was a quarter of a year. Let's times that by four. It could be, at the end of this year, we will have found 1600 people arrested for strangling people in this country, they are only the ones we've arrested."We don't know about all the others in the privacy of their home doing their own version of domestic violence that nobody knows about."Dickens says that we have spent years on White Ribbon and domestic violence campaigns, but this shows that New Zealand is once again a nation of domestic violence. "It's such an insidious way of asserting power."Talkback callers shared their experiences with him, including how it

Here we go again - another debate about old buildings, history and legacy and of course, money.The Dominion Post reported today that the cost of Wellington’s Town Hall earthquake strengthening project looks set to expand to $130 million, as contractors are understood to be counting on a $20m contingency fund.It may officially stand at $112.4m as reported yesterday, but capital developers say the cost of Wellington’s Town Hall project will rise by a further $20m and that everyone I the construction industry knew that.Add to that the fact that the Council’s Chief Executive Kevin Lavery said last week that the price of the contract could not be fixed because of the high demand for construction and workers in the city, then you have to feel that the Town Hall project could end out being a never ending money pit.David Farrar figured out that if the project costs $130 million then that would force every household in Wellington to pay $1800 each. He reckons it’s a terrible idea and the money should be spent on libra

Aucklanders will be able to have their say on a proposal to lower the speed limit on 10 per cent of the city's roads.Reducing speed limits will help towards ending Auckland's "road safety crisis".Auckland Transport is proposing to drop speeds on the majority of the streets in the central city from 50km/h to 30km/h.Chief executive Shane Ellison said safety was the primary concern for them."In 2017, over 800 people were killed or seriously injured on Auckland's roads. These are real people and the human cost of these tragedies are real as well."The proposed bylaw will be put out for public consultation from Thursday, February 28 until March 31 and could be in place by August.Hundreds of streets are on the list and the majority are in or around Auckland's CBD, including Wynyard Quarter and surrounding areas such as Freemans Bay and St Heliers.AT chairman Dr Lester Levy says lowering speeds is one of the quickest and most effective tools the organisation has to reduce road trauma."Auckland is facing a road safety

Yesterday my Facebook started pinging as the connections started sharing some sad news.  It’s always worrying when you feel your phone buzzing away in your pocket as the hive connects and gossips.The news was that Dmitri Edwards had died, before his time at 49.Dmitri. Dom. He did ZM nights and fill in shifts in Wellington back in the 90s. He was a sports editor at Radio New Zealand for 10 years and then worked at Beach FM on the Kapiti coast. After a restructure or two too many Dmitri quit the broadcasting game and went to work on the buses.I never worked with Dmitri but he worked with other mates of mine and we chatted whenever we met and had a couple of epic nights together.  When he died yesterday, I was shocked and so was everyone I knew. He’d had a stroke at work on Friday and while things looked ok for a day, his condition worsened and he slipped away.The reason I mention this is that I woke up this morning and saw his death had made the papers. His family had made the claim that the situation at NZ Bus

This Government is lurching towards another embarrassing stuff up, either based on their naiveté, or their incompetence, or a belief they can do whatever they like because they know best.Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin has announced that the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Bill will be deferred to deal with problems caused by the select committee process.This is the bill that streamlines these administrative processes as they try to make it easier to do the paperwork online.  But it also attracted some controversy when it outlined ways for transgender people to self-identify their gender. It’s a big change from the current regime which is a Family Court process that requires evidence of medical advice and treatment.This change caused a lot of surprise and condemnation when it came to light and a lot of mickey taking.  Callers to talkback were amazed that you might be able to change something as fundamental as your gender without a burden of third party impartial proof and ass

The most amazing thing about this Tax Working Group report is just how much people want to talk about it. And that’s a good thing because the more we talk about things the more we can understand things and make the right decisions.Yesterday I opened the lines at one and then for three hours we have a never-ending stream of calls. I tried to change the subject to talk about zoos. But you wouldn’t have a bar of it.So imagine my surprise this morning as I was walking my dog that person after person came up to me and started talking tax. Do I look like an accountant?One dog walker used a good word and I warned her I’d use it this afternoon. She said the real reason for the Tax Working Group is for conditioning. To raise the spectre of a big old hairy chested broad and comprehensive Capital Gains tax to scare the bejesus out of us so that come April when the government releases a scaled-down property capital gains tax we’d breathe a sigh of relief.It’s a theory favoured by many, particularly in the business world.

Another day, another storm in the gender identity teacup.To support Plunket, the chocolate company Whittakers has launched a gender reveal version of their coconut ice blocks.I know.  Already this sounds like a ridiculous story.  There are some people in marketing departments who really do over think things.Here’s the logic.  The new coconut Ice blocks normally come in pink.  So someone thought if we colour some blue, it would be like the baby colours. That led to someone thinking, why don’t we colour some blue and some pink but not label them as either pink or blue so when people open them up it’s a surprise as to what colour you get and that’s like the surprise when you hear what gender a baby is? And gender reveal parties that are all the rage right now, so that’s cool.  And since this is all about babies, let’s donate some money to Plunket at the same time we sell our pink and blue blocks of coconut ice.Imagine how horrific the brainstorming meeting that came up with this was.  The whole idea is clunky, a

David Bain was "shocked to the core" to hear his groomsman had committed a second murder.Paul Wilson, 55, also known as Paul Tainui, has pleaded guilty to raping and murdering Christchurch 27-year-old Nicole Tuxford in Merivale last year.He raped and murdered 21-year-old West Coast woman, Kimberly Schroder, in 1994.Wilson met Bain in jail and was groomsman at Bain's 2014 wedding.Joe Karam, long-time advocate for Bain, says Bain is distressed Wilson inflicted such terrible disaster on the victim and her family.He says Bain thought his friend was managing life well and there was no indication he wasn't.Wilson lay in wait for eight hours overnight, before 27-year-old Nicole Marie Tuxford arrived back in her Merivale home – in April last year.Wilson has pleaded guilty to sexual violation in the High Court in Christchurch this morning.On talkback this afternoon, people shared their experiences with criminals – including one who knew Paul Wilson inCaller Lyall met Wilson while on a tour of Papamoa Prison. He had di

So Jordan Peterson, the Canadian self help clinical psychologist guru, has come to the country, sold out, talked to his disciples and harrumphed his way through a few interviews and caused little or no upset, outrage or unrest.  And that’s a good thing.There were a few who before his visit seemed to be willing the country into a free speech panic. The ones who were itching for someone to stand up and try and ban Jordan.  Not because they were against Jordan but because they hate the sort of people who get their knickers in a knot by people like Jordan.That did not come to pass with the exception of a few tut-tut remarks from the peculiar people at Auckland Peace Action. Even Rachel Stewart was as welcoming as she could be by saying that when people say things you dislike then that doesn’t mean they’re the devil incarnate.And here is the thing about Jordan Peterson.  He’s bland, really. His 12 rules that have been welcomed by many sound like just the things my Dad used to say to me when I was a kid. Stand up s

How do you want your funeral to unfold?Death and funerals have been on Andrew Dickens mind after the loss of a family member last week.It has also been the subject of some discussion in the media, in light of a Stuff story that highlighted the benefits of a'DIY funeral'. Sue Allen wrote about the cheap funeral they arranged for her friend, Paul, after he asked for the money to be spent on food and wine rather than an expensive coffin or funeral director.Based on that, Andrew asked listeners what their funeral experiences had been like, and received some fascinating responses. Caller Ross spoke of how his father wanted to go from "hospital to the furnace", and it took just two days for them to get his ashes home with limited fuss involved. "Even doing it as simplistically as that, it was still a $5000 event, and I know dad would be cringing at the cost of that as he would have wanted it to be close to nothing." Caller Frenchie says that his family has measured everyone up in order to make makeshift coffins to

Yesterday a lot of the conversation of the world centred around Shamima Begum. The Islamic girl from Bethnal Green in the East End of London.  A girl who was radicalised, left the UK for Syria and the ISIS caliphate at 15 and now aged 19 is stranded in a refugee camp in the desert wanting to come home.It’s not something I did talkback on because really there’s no debate. A spokesperson from the Home Office said what I think we all think.  Shamima made her bed and she should lie in it.But, the law must prevail and the UK will probably have to let her back in.  Statehood is one of the hardest things to strip and if you’re going to deny it you’d be better off denying it as someone leaves and not as they try to returnSo things got interesting when Helen Clark waded in.  First on Twitter, and then on this radio station.  She said we should have more sympathy for Shamima because she was radicalised as a kid, and she’s made a terrible mistake and she should be allowed to go home under the closest security.I certainl

Viagogo have hit back over claims they are scamming people over Elton John tickets, saying that they offer better prices to his concerts than the legitimate re-seller site.Legendary rocket Elton John is set to play three shows in New Zealand early next year, with standard tickets ranging from $130 through to $330.Fans have been left distraught after tickets were snapped up quickly, with the Mission Estate concert in Napier selling out entirely during the pre-sale. Yesterday, promoter Michael Chugg told Andrew Dickens that those who miss out should not buy tickets from Viagogo as they would not be honoured."Half the time they don't even have the tickets. They're taking the money and speculating that they're going to get tickets."Viagogo today responded to Chugg's claim. In a statement, a spokesperson claims that "a majority of tickets" are being sold through the most expensive VIP and Platinum channels, shutting out most customers."In fact, last week so called “platinum tickets” were already on offer on Ticket

The Australian promoter of Elton John's upcoming New Zealand tour has addressed the ticketing problems that plagued yesterday's Napier sales and left fans who missed out feeling angry.Michael 'Chuggi' Chugg dispelled rumours of gremlins in the ticketing system or bugs instead saying that there was just too many people wanting to go to the show."I've seen a few complaints about people not being able to get tickets and all that stuff but when you've got a 25,000 capacity venue and there's 60,000 people trying to buy tickets obviously a lot are going to miss out," he said. "And that's what happened.""From the reports I'm seeing this morning it was basically just too many people."One particular source of ire for fans was waiting online to buy tickets and then finding themselves being bumped down the queue."When you sell out you need to tell the 15,000 to 20,000 people that are still online that you have sold out, rather than just all of a sudden there's zero tickets," he said. "But you know, everyone keeps learni

The Education Minister Chris Hipkins has just released his review of our polytechnic education system. The blighted tertiary sector that seems to have lost its way and required you and me to stump up with $100 million to bail it out over recent years.So Chris Hipkins has decided that the 16 existing institutes of technology and polytechnics will be brought together under one entity - the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology.Education providers and Industry Training Organisations will also have their roles redefined.And the whole thing is now up for consultationI’m a graduate of the polytech system.Back in 1982, I was a graduate of the Auckland Technical Institute’s Certificate in Journalism, which was at the time the only journalism qualification.Over 18 weeks I was taught the basics of journalism; the writing styles, the law, how to type at 40 words per minute, how to take Teeline shorthand. I was seconded for a couple of fortnights to various media. I spent a week at the Northern Advocate in Whang

Those who use medicinal cannabis illegally are concerned that their supplies are running out. Radio New Zealand reports that 1200 cannabis plants in Northland were poisoned last month in an aerial cull that has been blamed on police. Police have refused to comment on their involvement in the drops, but local growers say that they will continue as long as the drug remains a black market activity.The crops would have gone towards people who can't afford the high prices to obtain cannabis oil legally. Talkback callers told Andrew Dickens that cannabis has helped them or friends of theirs as they deal with pain. Caller Gee says that a friend of his uses the cannabis oil to help tend with seizures as he battled cancer.He says that he has seen a shortage over the last two weeks, and that it has become more difficult to obtain it. Gee says that they will have to go black market in order to "It sucks. Why can't we have it?" Chronic pain patient Lisa says that people like her need medicinal cannabis, and she is disapp

So if the first major poll of the year is to be believed then Labour is well loved. Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern is the best person to lead the nation by a country mile and Simon Bridges just can’t cut through when he’s being beaten by Judith Collins.That last finding is surprising because it’s not as though Judith Collins has been striding across the news and being very visible. A quick search shows that Simon Bridges has made the news 10 times as much as Judith Collins, who once a week fires off a Kiwibuild attack and once a week gets an opinion piece written about her as a possible leader.That all leads me to say that Judith Collins always had more base appeal than Simon Bridges and Mr Bridges, despite a wealth of time on our screens and our radios, has not grown his support. This poll is an indication of Bridges' weaknesses, not Judith Collins strengths.Then there’s the strength of the Prime Minister’s support which never fails to gobsmack her opponents.  I have often warned that National supporters are s

Hungary's government is greatly increasing financial aid and subsidies for families with several children, the country's prime minister said Sunday.The measures announced by Viktor Orban during his "state of the nation" speech are meant to encourage women to have more children and reverse Hungary's population decline.The benefits include a lifetime personal income-tax exemption for women who give birth and raise at least four children; a subsidy of 2.5 million forints ($8,825) toward the purchase a seven-seat vehicle for families with three or more children; and a low-interest loan of 10 million forints ($35,300) for women under age 40 who are marrying for the first time.Orban, who has made "zero tolerance" for immigration his main theme in the past four years and was elected to a third consecutive term in April, said the initiative is meant to "ensure the survival of the Hungarian nation.""This is the Hungarians' answer, not immigration," Orban said.The prime minister also listed some of his government's eco

So I woke up this morning and turned on the radio at 6.15 and the first words I heard was Niva Retimanu saying, “café that wrote Asians on docket called racist, read more at NZHerald.co.nz".I thought here we go again. More excessive outrage, more calls for retribution, more explosive reaction back, more argument.Why are we all so up for a fight these days? Easily offended and then ready to fight back with no holds barred, often about relatively minuscule things. One can only suppose that we are so comfortable in our lives that the irritants in it get amplified. Mosquito bites become snake bites.So I’ve read the article. On Sunday, a café wrote Asians on their docket to identify the party that had ordered. The New Zealand born, Asian woman concerned has complained and posted to the cafes Facebook page. The paper has reported that the page was inundated with complaints.READ MORE: Racism row: Comment on Auckland restaurant receipt leaves woman shockedSo I wandered over to the café’s Facebook page. Funny sort of

Should New Zealand change it's name to Aotearoa full time? A petition has been launched to officially include the Maori name in our official title. The possibilities were highlighted on Waitangi Day, when the New Zealand cricket teams wore Aotearoa on the shirts for their test against India.Andrew Dickens says that the change got him thinking about how things can progress slowly and eventually be accepted."Little by little, inch by inch, things change. When in the nineties, a woman decided to sing the New Zealand national anthem at Twickenham, first in Maori and then in English, there was shock and outrage, but now it's perfectly acceptable."Most talkback callers were in favour of the change, saying that it simply makes sense to incorporate it until our name. Caller Jamie says that if the flag referendum had included the option of a name change, he would have voted in support. However, callers were less enthusiastic about including more New Zealand history in our education.See omnystudio.com/listener for priv

Two news stories are raising the profile of a growing movement to push back against having children.One Colombian couple, Natalie and Andres, took to Facebook to make a firm stand against having children, posing with a photo for his vasectomy appointment.Their reason? As well as the usual reasons around having disposable income, the two say they want to "contribute to the conservation of the planet that is so over-populated and damaged."Their claims raised eyebrows and propelled them into the global spotlight, with over 56,000 people sharing their post and over 1,600 commenting. It comes as one man has made global headlines for taking action against his parents for giving birth to him. Raphael Samuel, 27, from Mumbai, believes that his parents should have asked for his permission before conceiving him, likening the actions as being akin to kidnapping and slavery. His mother told the DailyMail she is pleased her son is a fearless, independent thinker, and will accept she is to blame if he can provide a "ration