The report out that workplace bullying is costing the country in terms of productivity and lost earnings is nothing new.  Bullying and harassment are conservatively estimated to cost employers $1.5 billion a year, according to a new study by KPMG, published for Friday's Pink Shirt Day.    

Years ago, there was a story on workplace bullying that surfaced in the news and the Department of Labour had to scramble to get extra staff to man the phones when a helpline they set up to take calls was overwhelmed. They had to keep it running for far longer than they ever imagined they would need to, such was the response. 

I'd like to think things have changed since I was a young journalist, but I don't think they have, and the report seems to confirm they have not. 

I grew up in newsrooms which were no place for the fainthearted.  Sure, there was no physical hazing or pranking, but journos are good with words and there was some brutal sledging.  I wasn't often on the receiving end of it, but on the rare occasion, I had a boss lean over me screaming into my face that I was effing useless and that I didn't deserve to be there and who the ‘f’ had I slept with to be on the team was fairly memorable.  To be fair, I was a bit rubbish. Most people new to any job make mistakes and haven't developed into the best versions of themselves, and yes, I probably didn't deserve to be there. I knew I hadn't slept my way into the job and the others knew I hadn't so that bit didn't really matter. So, after a bit of a cry in the toilets and being mopped up by my colleagues it was onwards and upwards.  A different person might have been scarred for life. Given up on their chosen career and done something else.    

And I rather fear it is still happening because today’s study used data from the Human Rights Commission’s 2022 report, which surveyed 2500 workers across Aotearoa and found 29% of workers experienced at least one bullying or harassment behaviour in the year before the survey.  The report found that 58% of the total cost of ($780m) in 2021-22 arose from impacts on female workers as they are disproportionately affected by bullying or harassment, according to the report. Or maybe it’s more likely that they will report it or that they will find offence and hurt from words other workers might not. 

It found that every worker affected cost employers about $1600, which could be broken down into absenteeism ($219), presenteeism ($450), where you’re there, but you’re not there. You’re at your desk but you’re not working. Increased staff turnover ($674), and internal procedures such as dealing with complaints ($270).  Big numbers, no doubt about that.   

At least now there are procedures for dealing with complaints. Back then, it was ‘suck it up and get on with it’. But I mean, nobody in the olden days was trained to be a boss. After a certain period of time you were promoted, you became one whether you were good at dealing with people or not. These days, I think the training is a little bit better if you want to be a manager. You’re given a bit more support once you become a manager, but back then, it just simply didn’t happen. 

But it’s also difficult to know how people are going to receive your words. I mean, we were talking about this before and the boss is, you know, sometimes he will say ‘I'd like you to do this’, and a young worker will say, ‘yeah, no, not really for me.’ And he goes ‘it wasn't, this isn't a workshop. This is, this is not a discussion. This is what I need you to do to do your job.’ And that can be construed in this day and age as bullying.  

A bit of banter between work mates, fine. A bit of banter with the wrong workmate? Not fine. 

It all has to be so nuanced, doesn't it? And I know that I have got the height of a rhinoceros, I know that I will go for the one liner wherever I can and sometimes that can be hurtful. So, I have tried to give younger workers, you know, when they feel that they might, I might have gone too far, a way of letting me know that. I know that I'm older, I've been around longer,  I can be bolshy, so I try to let them know that they can tell me if I'm a bit much. So far they haven't, and I hope that's not because they're not cowering in their crocs. 

I try to be mindful that we're all of different generations, that we all grew up with different expectations. But it must be incredibly difficult to manage when you are a manager with numerous generations of workers. When you need a job done. When people respond in different ways to different instructions.  

I have no doubt that there are some toxic, nasty, petty people who exist to make others' lives misery, but I do sometimes wonder whether some of these figures Are not toxic bullying but crossed wires. 

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Finances are tough for many Kiwis at the moment, with costs skyrocketing across the board. 

Mortgages are going up, as is inflation, food costs, gas, and electricity. Banks are expecting the value of “bad mortgage debt” to increase by 40% by the end of 2024, and around 90% of the country’s fixed mortgage debt has an interest rate about 4%. 

An estimated 40,000 people had their power cut in 2023 due to unpaid bills, and one in five had trouble paying their monthly bill on time. 

Much like low earners, middle-income taxpayers are living paycheque to paycheque, struggling to keep up with increasing costs amidst calls for more taxpayer funded benefits.  

Donna, a caller on Kerre Woodham Mornings, is one such taxpayer. Her yearly income is around $90,000, which she said becomes only $70,000 after tax and over half of which then goes towards her mortgage. 

“I can’t go to my boss and just say, ‘hey, give me a pay rise’ more than once a year,” she told Kerre. 

“And even then, I’m lucky, you know, if it happens.” 

Her income goes not only to her mortgage and her general living expenses, but also to rates and life insurance, to ensure she has some stability should she become disabled. 

“I’m 57, so I’m nowhere near getting a benefit, and all these extras that the government uses taxpayers’ money for don’t go to people like me.” 

“I’m not saying they should,” Donna explained. 

“I’m just saying I can’t afford any more.” 

It’s becoming more and more difficult to build up a decent financial safety net, as any spare money can quickly get sucked up by unexpected costs that would be minor or inconsequential in any other situation. 

Donna said that she used to have three months' worth of looking forward in savings, but now she’s literally living paycheque to paycheque. 

“I hurt my back three and a half weeks ago and I have a regular appointment to see the doctor this week, and I couldn’t afford to go any earlier,” she told Kerre. 

While the appointments are only $20, that’s $20 of an already dwindling supply as all of her payments went out the night before.  

“I mean, I get it.” 

“I try to help people, you know, if I see someone who’s sitting on the street, even if I can just give them a smile and say’ hello, how are you?’ I try to do that,” she continued, mentioning that she buys people sandwiches when she can, but can’t do much more than she already does. 

“I don’t get any extra help, and I’m not asking for it,” she reiterates. 

“Everyone’s going on about these, what’s happening with this coalition with giving tax back very shortly, you know what? I need it.” 

“I need that $20 a fortnight that I’m going to get.” 

While it’s only a small amount, Donna said she’s tired of hearing politicians fight when people are struggling to survive.  

"I live in South Auckland and they’re all... it’s all around me and it’s just, no one... I don’t know what else to say. I don’t know what else to do or how to stop it.” 

“I just feel so helpless.” 

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If you woke up this morning and you turned on the heater because it was a bit chilly, not as chilly as it has been, but a bit chilly, good for you. Did you think about the cost? If you didn’t, lucky you.

An estimated 40,000 New Zealand households had their power cut due to unpaid bills in 2023, which is a phenomenal number of households. One in five had trouble paying their monthly power bill and this is at a time when the “big four” power companies are earning more than $7 million every day while some households struggle to heat their homes. 

These figures are according to Consumer NZ. According to their financial reports, Meridian, Contact, Genesis and Mercury had combined earnings of $2.7 billion over the last year – about $7.4m a day.  But while the consumer watchdog says the numbers are a bad look for the generation and retail power companies (retailers), the industry says it is ploughing earnings back into developments to help New Zealand transition to a carbon-zero economy.  

So, they’re not all just bloated fat cats puffing on cigars with the profits, and those aren't the profits, those are just the earnings, they are putting any profits back into transitioning to a carbon zero economy, so the wind farms and the like. 

Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said 60% of New Zealanders were concerned about the cost of energy and “the optics of huge profits at the height of a cost-of-living crisis aren’t great.” It’s the same problem with the banks, they’re making profits while people are struggling to pay the rent and to pay the mortgage. 

The coalition government, mindful of this. has continued the Winter Energy Payment introduced by the Labour Government to help with the cost of heating homes during winter but Auckland law professor Jodi Gardiner says that doesn't cover nearly enough households who are around the edges of poverty. 

If you’re not getting the Winter Energy payment, it’s because you don’t qualify. It arrives in your bank account automatically from the first of May through to the end of September, and if you’re entitled to it, you’ll be receiving it. Jodie Gardner says not nearly enough families are being taken into account for that Winter energy payment, and besides, it doesn’t go far enough. 

Many New Zealand houses, particularly social housing, were built during the era of cheaper electricity and were reliant for warmth on electric heating rather than insulation. Now, that’s changed with the Healthy Homes legislation being passed, but again, Kainga Ora and the statehouse providers were given longer to ensure their homes meet Healthy Home standards than private landlords. So, there are still people living in poorly insulated homes, drafty homes, who are reliant on electricity for their warmth and their cooking, and for everything else. 

It is estimated that now 25% of these occupants nationwide and more than 40% in the South suffer energy poverty, contributing to avoidable hospitalisation. So, you have a choice if you’re on limited income, either a benefit, or the super, or wages that cannot be raised, you either pay the power bill or you buy food, or you know, you have to make those sorts of crunch decisions. 

Jodie Gardner says a return to state ownership of electricity isn't realistic right here right now, she argues a simpler – and more appropriately targeted – approach is to implement “social tariffs” for electricity.   

These are targeted discount energy deals funded by the government for qualifying low-income consumers. There are examples of social tariffs being used overseas to reduce the harm being caused by profit-driven companies operating in essential sectors.    

She says in the UK some private telecommunications providers have voluntarily chosen to bring in subsidised social tariffs for broadband and telephone for customers on certain welfare benefits because access to the internet, like electricity, is seen as a basic human right in developed countries.   

So, if you are having to make decisions about what you spend money on right now as we head towards winter, especially those who are living in the South where the temperatures are colder, do you worry about paying the bill? Is it one of those low-level anxieties? When paying the power bill, do you take measures to ensure that you use the least amount possible of electricity to cook and heat your home? 

There's nothing new in this. You know the only new thing is the fact that we now acknowledge it. People during winter ring me and tell me they go to bed at about 6pm so that they are living in one room and keeping warm in their bed rather than trying to heat their home.   

Do you consider the provision of electricity a basic human right, which in turn means that the rest of us, has an obligation to ensure that you are not in hardship when it comes to paying the bill? 

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Late in the show yesterday, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster along with Police Minister Mark Mitchell announced they would be introducing a National Gang Unit to crack down on gang crime and gangs’ anti-social behaviour.  

Coster said police know gang members commit a large amount of the crime in New Zealand. I don’t think it’s a state secret. I think most of us are well aware that the gangs are either committing it, or behind a large amount of the crime in New Zealand. He says 8% of all violence and 18% of serious violence. I'd love to know how many robberies and ram raids they were behind too, using young children to do the actual dirty work. 

The National Gang Unit would be a dedicated, specialised gang unit of 25-30 people with ring-fenced staff of up to seven staff in every police district across the country.  

Coster said this action will be a continuation of Operation Cobalt. Fabulous. You might’ve seen the results of Operation Cobalt in the crime and the court news, numbers of gang members up before the courts getting prosecuted, getting assets stripped. The proceeds of the Crime Act are well and truly in force and in play with all the bling, and the diamond studs, and the gold chains, and the cars, and the motorbikes being seized by police, all as a result of Operation Cobalt.  

All well and good, and precisely what this coalition Government campaigned on. And to be fair, Operation Cobalt was in play in the last administration as well, but people were sick to death of seeing gang violence, senseless deaths in the name of protecting patches, the flouting of laws on a daily basis, and just the general swagger. I live outside the law. I don’t obey the same rules, I don’t care, two fingers to you. And they were allowed to get away with it for far too long. 

So, cool.  I’m glad the government is doing what they said they were going to do and cracking down on the gangs, but you have to get the buy in from the police, and according to the Police Association President Chris Cahill there won't be any extra resources or staff for this new national gang unit.  

“The real problem with this announcement is it’s come with no actual facts around what the extra resourcing will be, what the extra budget will be. And if it doesn't have those things attached to it, you’re just asking the same staff to do more work, or you’re just moving stuff around, and so we really want to see the facts behind that. 

“Look, it’s great to have a focus, but as I say, we’re already overworked and what are we gonna drop? I mean, the Commissioner yesterday said we’ll be doing less mental health and less family harm, but we’ve been hearing that story for a couple of years now and it just hasn’t happened. So, there’s a fair bit of scepticism out there. I mean, officers are pretty keen to get into these gangs, they know they’ve had, you know, far too much leeway and not enough emphasis on policing them, but they’re just bogged down with the amount of work they’ve got at the moment.” 

I know that the Police Association is in the middle of pay negotiations with the government so there'll be a bit of ‘argy bargy’ and a little bit of jockeying for position going on, but seriously - wouldn't it have been a much more powerful statement if you'd had the PA standing alongside the Minister and the Commissioner? If they had all come out together and said we are united in reducing the harm being done to families, to communities, and to society from the gangs and the misery they perpetuate. 

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David Seymour says the Government is diversifying education by bringing back charter schools. 

More than $150 million from the Budget will go towards setting up 15 new charter schools and converting 35 state schools.  

Charter schools get government funding but operate independently. 

They were abolished by the Labour-led coalition in 2018.  

The Associate Education Minister told Kerre Woodham that there’s no shortage of demand in teaching for the basic proposition of ‘get the results, we’ll leave you alone, stop meddling’. 

He said there’s also a demand from parents who want to see schools run in accordance with the values of their communities, rather than the latest ideas to come out of the capitol. 

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Charter schools are making a comeback.  

So, what happened last time?  

When ACT was in confidence and supply with the John Key government, they were able to establish charter schools and they managed to establish 11 of them. 

Charter schools were designed to be a place for children who didn't fit into mainstream education. They had different structures, a different layout, and a different form of teaching. They still must follow a curriculum, but it is different from your normal education.  

I was wondering, given this story on neurodivergent children yesterday, are parents really feeling that the education system is failing their children? It's not just parents of neurodivergent children who feel the education system is failing them, though, is it? To be clear. Your average kiwi kid is going to their local state school, and they’re learning with great teachers who are doing their best, and their best is very good. They have a great relationship with their teachers and with the principal. They have a great relationship with each other. They're having fun and they're learning.  

But if you have children who are particularly bright, or if they are neurodivergent, or if they're incredibly anxious, or if they come from families where education is not a priority, what do you do?  

We've seen falling rates of international achievement, the nonattendance of children in our public schools has reached all-time highs or lows depending on which way you look at it. As a parent, have you looked at alternative forms of education? Homeschooling is up for all sorts of reasons that came out of the COVID-19 years, but it's still starting from a very small base, and homeschooling is not for everyone. It's more a lifestyle than just homeschooling.   

Private schools are prohibitively expensive. We saw a story in the Herald this morning where middle-class families who were looking to upgrade the home are being turned back by the banks because they have too much debt. They've got the private schools and the cars, but they are struggling to meet the payments on the credit cards. It's not just first-home buyers. The religious schools, the integrated religious schools have waiting lists as long as your arm.  

So, what do you do if you feel that the local school is failing your child or grandchild? And I know that we're in an era where every child is special, every child is unique, and every education system needs to cater specifically to that one child, but there are large groups of kids for whom state school doesn't work. And we've seen that both in the falling achievement rates and in the fact they are not turning up for school at all.  

And it is not just kids from families who do not care. They're parents who care very much, but they cannot get their kids to school. I could not imagine how awful the battle would be to try and make your child go to school every single day, and I've heard from parents that they bargain. They barter, they plead, they pay.  

Would an alternative form of education from David Seymour work? Would that be an option for you? We used to have a great education in this country. It was something we were known for and now it is gone. 

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How on earth can the IRD allow child support arrears to get to more than $1 billion?   

I could understand it if chasing up payments involved men and women using telephones and ledger books, sharpening their pencils to make fresh calculations - but in this age of technology and electronic payments and with IRD having the power to rifle through bank accounts, it seems inconceivable that it could be allowed to get to this.  

Even taking into account much of the money owed will be made up on interest and penalties... $1 billion. $1.023 billion to be precise, is a staggering amount. One of the overdue payments is a debt of $2.5 million, now 10 years old. Inland Revenue (IRD) won’t say how it came to be that size. All it will say is that the amount is “currently under a payment arrangement”. 

Nor will the IRD be drawn on just how the amount of unpaid child support reached $1.023 billion, owed by 97,597 debtors as at April 30 this year. Nearly $434.2m of the total is in penalty fees. The oldest debt dates back 32 years since the IRD began administering the Child Support Act in 1992. 

Family lawyer, Sharon Chandra, says it comes down to resourcing.   

“They either don't have sufficient resources to allocate towards the debt recovery side of things or that I suppose it's not enough of a priority to reallocate some of their existing resources. And the natural consequence of that is that you've just got this accumulating debt which obviously has, has reached a billion dollars."

Now, how can chasing up a billion dollars, a billion with a bit, not a myth, a billion dollars not be a priority. 

It seems extraordinary and I know that there are all sorts of different areas that IRD you know, can be working in with student loans and with companies and with Covid payments and with chasing up small business holders and the like and also the rich people who use sophisticated accounts to hide as much of their funds as possible. 

So, they don't have to pay tax on them. 

So, I get that they've got plenty to be getting on with. 

But a billion dollars we could do a lot with. 

Would an amnesty work?  According to an AUT senior lecturer in taxation, it could.  Ranjana Gupta says that offering voluntary disclosure would substantially reduce administrative costs in cross-checking the millions of lines of additional data received under the AEOI policy. 

To administer such a program effectively, the IRD must use the best strategies to encourage voluntary declaration. For example, the opportunity to declare should be offered once only. Enforcement strategies and sanctions for non-compliance should be credible, consistent and clear. 

Tougher penalties and interest would apply to those who choose not to take advantage of the program. Research shows a well-administered tax amnesty program facilitates strong engagement. 

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Consumers will be feeling unsettled as the reliability of electricity supply is tested. 

A cold snap and low wind generation meant the country faced a potential supply shortfall, and Transpower asked people to reduce electricity use between 7 and 9am. 

Consumer Advocacy Council chair Deborah Hart says this kind of situation is not new, but the market model is obviously not working. 

She said that we need to turn our attention from only building infrastructure to delivering energy efficiency and innovation. 

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Ah, another cold snap, another example of our power industry being unable to cope. I hope you all had cold showers and turned off the heated towel rails and ate cold gruel this morning to do your bit to reduce power consumption. The reason for the latest orange alert is that there has been a surge in demand and the wind turbines haven't been turning - yada, yada, yada. Different excuses same result. It gets cold, and our electricity suppliers can't cope. David Seymour says it's Third World stuff —it is— and Simeon Brown says it's all the fault of the last lot. 

To be fair, according to the experts, there's been a lack of investment in new renewable generation during most of the past 10 years. Although generators will be quick to point out the renewables they're in the process of developing, and New Zealand’s electricity supply is set for a welcome boost in the second half of winter with Meridian’s newest wind farm on track for early completion. When completed, Harapaki will be the country’s second largest wind farm, offering enough electricity to power most of Hawke’s Bay.  

So one of the reasons for the shortage in power this morning, one of the reasons given was that the wind hadn’t been turning the turbine. So if the wind doesn’t turn them, you need a backup, you need a plan B. 

Gentailers were also reluctant to invest too much into new energy sources as they waited to hear the fate of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. Had it closed, it would have released 572 megawatts of excess generating capacity on to the market. The electricity market model provides strong disincentives against power companies bringing on extra capacity until they are sure it will be fully absorbed. 

The International Energy Authority noted arguments that the kind of market model New Zealand has adopted could result in underinvestment in new generation as far back as in 2001. And you can see that if your primary motivation is to make money, you’re not going to dump the market full of the product that you’re trying to sell, you’re going to hold of. 

Okay they’re building a new hydro lake. Oh, no they’re not. Tiwai Point might close and we might get more electricity into the market. No it isn’t. So then they try and play catchup with major electricity users. 

Major Electricity Users Group chairman John Harbord warned in April that generators were incentivised to keep the market on the “precipice of shortage”.  And that is precisely where we are this morning. Ladies and gentlemen, where we are on the precipice of shortage yet again, while successive governments argue who did least, and as power companies claim to be doing their bit to invest and build in alternative energy sources. We shiver in our kitchens, while the Teslas languish in the garage, having cold gruel and dripping on untoasted bread to do our bit.   

Just as we did last winter and the winter before that and will no doubt continue to do so until our grandchildren have grandchildren. 

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There are more calls to further lower the bowel cancer screening age. 

An Otago University study shows rates of early onset colorectal cancer have risen by 26% each decade over the past 20 years. 

Rates for Māori aged under 50 years rose 36%. 

Professor Frank Frizelle told Kerre Woodham that the screening age needs to be lowered from the current age of 60 to at least 45. 

He said that a lot of the issue is that young people having bowel cancer is unexpected, so symptoms are often ignored. 

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You have to wonder whether the strident critics of the coalition government ever stop and look at the facts. Maybe read the press releases. Listen to the interviews. Do they just see something coming from the office of the Honourable Shane Reti or the Honourable David Seymour and bin it? Hear Christopher Luxon on the wireless and just switch off and go “Oh! Can’t come bear it! Let me replay some of the 1o’clock briefings during COVID and restore my equilibrium.” 

You know, do they ever stop and think that what they're saying is absurd. Like, this government is racist, and anti-Māori, and wants to exterminate Māori. There's been some hysterical rhetoric coming from some quarters, dangerous and hysterical rhetoric. Two of the party leaders that make up the coalition government can whakapapa back to their Māori ancestry. There are more Māori in Parliament than in any other time in Parliament's history, 155 years after New Zealand's first Māori MP's were elected. And so we've been, you know, mostly have been part of democracy for a very, since we all sort of came together. We now have more Māori representation than ever before. There are 33 Māori MPs across all of the parties in Parliament. Nine in Labour, Te Pati Māori, obviously six. Green, six, National, five! Shock me. New Zealand First, four, ACT, three.  

So, when you say we have a racist, extremist government, do you mean they're just not the right sort of Māori for you? They don't think like you do. They don't do the things you want them to do, in your way. Or say the things you want them to say. Well, you know, this is diverse community. Even if you're Māori you’re allowed to have a different point of view from another Māori. News alert! Same with women. Same with men. You know, so when you say that this government is racist and anti-Māori, we'll tell that to the 33 Māori who are in Parliament.  

Is it really the same with school lunches? We had David Seymour on yesterday around 11:30. So we didn't have much time and we won't take much time, it'll just cover it off a little this morning. But people are so anti the coalition government that even when they keep the school lunches, and even when they keep the school lunches and then extend it to pre-schoolers, so not only have they not scrapped it, they've extended it, the critics are vocal and fevered. Some are even anxious.  

This is Haeata Community Campus Principal Peggy Burrows on Heather Du-Plessis Allen last night.  

PB: If the government is going to be buying food and the argument is that they have the, you know, the buying power to save money, what does that look like? Does that mean that we're going to get huge cartoons of pre-packaged food and generic food and things like that? And that's not what we have been used to. 

HDPA: Yeah, but what's wrong with that, Peggy? 

PB: Well, if you have a. Child. That's celiac. Then you have to have a diet that is accommodating a better you have a vegetarian child. If you have a child that has, you know, those sorts of things have to be taken into consideration, I think. 

I'm sure they will be Pegs. You know. For heaven's sake, when she talks about saving money she spits out the words like they’re anathema to her. Heaven forfend that we keep a close eye on the taxpayer dollar. It's not the government paying for it, it’s you, me and her. And you know, news alert, food is pre-packaged. If you go and buy a sandwich from the dairy, it's in a package, it's been made hours earlier. It's pre-packaged. And I'm absolutely certain David Seymour's not going to be serving up lamb chops for all and you don't get up from the table till you've eaten it. You know, everybody understands these days that serving up food involves catering for special needs.  

And this is Boyd Swinburn, Auckland University's Boyd Swinburne on the Mike Hosking Breakfast. He has not much faith in the changes.  

MH: If you wanna get a sandwich and some fruit in a kid's stomach, that's no bad thing. That's what we're doing. And there are more kids getting it than were previously.

BS: Well, that's what he's claiming. But I don't see how I can do it when he so brings the money down. 

Claiming he said that about three times, that's what he's claiming. What David Seymour’s lying? About being able to produce sandwiches? And I don't know about you, but when it was first discussed about feeding hungry kids at school, I was all for it, but I didn't imagine it would be butter chicken, and vegetarian nachos, and lasagne, and all being delivered by numerous providers right around the country. I thought it would be a no-frills lunch that would feed hungry kids. The sort of lunch that your kids get, my kids get, our grandkids get. There were some providers who were doing a really great job and there were some providers who simply were not. Schools were ordering lunches for ghost kids. Food was going to waste. There was no evaluation on whether the lunches were doing their job or not, other than comments like I feel good when my tummy is full. Me too.  

I have no problem with providing a basic lunch for kids at school at all, but my hackles rise when I hear these people going ‘hmph. Government. Looking to save money. What about these beautiful, delicious, nutritious meals that we've been able to offer kids for hot cooked meals? Food from around the world? Just not right.’  

Well, you know what's not right? What is not right like are hungry kids, kids who cannot learn because they're starving, that is plain wrong. And if we can fix that, we should. Does that mean we have to offer an extensive, international range of hot and cold food that is designed to cater to every single individual taste we have? We have breakfast in schools that is no frills that has been working for years. Nobody has complained about that and we're now going to have to have an international smorgasbord buffet for these kids instead of the Sanitarium products, the milk, and the toast. That's been working just fine. Nobody's worried about shame about going along to The Breakfast Club. Nobody's been concerned about, what about the coeliacs? What about halal? What about the vegans? Nobody. They've just fed hungry kids. Going about their business.  

And on a day when David Seymour said not only am I not going to scrap it, despite the fact I think he really wanted to, not only am I not going to scrap it, I'm going to extend it. There's just been strident criticism. What the Dickens? What is this world coming to? 

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