(CHEERING, APPLAUSE) (UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS) - Hello, Kiwis. I'm Patty Gower, and I have got issues. On this show, we investigate issues big and small that are important to all of us. Our pre-school childcare system is in crisis ` centres closing, teachers leaving, kids neglected, parents desperate. We investigate. And Taylor Swift has snubbed New Zealand, but don't worry. Karen O'Leary is on the case. Can she fix this for the Swifties? Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2023 (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Tonight, my issue is with the disaster in our day-cares. This is about our little kids, our babies. There is so much guilt for working parents as it is. When you drop your kids off, you shouldn't have to worry about them being looked after properly. But the reality is you should be worried. Really worried. While many centres are absolutely wonderful, we've found that some of them are actually dangerous for our kids ` for their health and for their development ` because the entire Early Childhood Education sector is in chaos. Teachers are leaving. Small centres are closing, while some big corporations are making mega profits. The waiting lists are out of control, regulations are lax, and it is bloody expensive. That's why I'm calling this our day-care disaster, and this is most definitely an issue for all of us. Tonight, to investigate this, we've got Newshub journalist Janika ter Ellen, and we've got community investigator Karen O'Leary, and of course, our news-deskers, Eli Matthewson and Courtney Dawson. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) - Now, Paddy, I'm really pleased that you're looking into this issue because I myself have a child in day-care. - Oh, how old? - He's 14. (LAUGHTER) He's the star of the rugby team, I can tell you that much. - Now, that's an issue. (CHUCKLES) All right. We'll get into it now, and I want to start this a little bit differently tonight because I've got something to show you, an interview that really shocked me. It's with someone who has been involved in the early childhood sector for 30 years. He's New Zealand's only public health early childhood expert, and he has visited 1500 centres, met with thousands of teachers, and this is what he told me. - Every day thousands of children in New Zealand will be put into conditions that no child should be subjected to. That's noise, it's stress... It's emotional insecurity. I would describe it as a ship which is going down. It's not in risk of sinking. It is sinking. It's bad enough that parents should be worried. Now, I hate saying that because I don't want to worry parents. A lot of parents are under enough stress as it is, but it is simply unfair to parents to let them think that we have a sector that is well-enough governed that they can be sure of their child's well-being. If your child is at a centre that has a 1:5 ratio for children under 2, get them out as soon as you can because that ratio is unsafe for your child. The gross overcrowding, we have no excuse for that. It causes noise and stress and conflict. Very hard on teachers. I would describe that as state-funded child abuse. - Wow. 'State-funded child abuse'. Karen, you worked in for 21-odd years. Is that` Do you agree with him? - Oh, absolutely. I mean, this ship has been sinking` The early childhood ship has been sinking for such a long time. I was banging on about all of these things ` ratios and all of that stuff ` for years. And it's got to the point now where I've got a son, and I wouldn't send him to most of the early childhood centres that we have in New Zealand because they're just not safe. - I've got a son too. He's called Eden; he's 3 years old. We have him in a wonderful centre, but in investigating this, I was really shocked as to how many kids in New Zealand don't have that. It's really patchy quality of care in New Zealand, and as Mike said, in some cases, it's dangerous. So, I spoke to one teacher, Helen van der Merve. She has 18 years in the industry. She's also found herself in a bit of a sweet spot now, but she wants to blow the whistle on what she's seen in the past. (CHILDREN CHATTER) - JANIKA: Omanu pre-school in Mt Maunganui goes above and beyond. All the teachers are qualified, experienced, and there's a high ratio of teachers to children. - Knowing that your team and your manager has your back and it's going to support you 100% through the day, that's just amazing. - This side. Then that side. Down low, too slow! - Oh! - (LAUGHS) - Hey, Fergus, tell me, do you have a best friend teacher here? - Jordie. - Jordie. - That makes me so happy. Oh my God, it's gonna make me cry. I love my job, and... for children to say that is amazing. That's all I want, is for children to have that teacher that they can have that trust in, and, yeah... That makes me smile. - The art space over here, creations. - Yeah. - The science, and then the sleep space is over there. - Helen van der Merve has been an early childhood teacher for 18 years. She manages the centre and, with the support of the owner, makes sure it runs to a high standard. But some of the day-cares she's worked at in the past have had a much lower quality of care. - There can be, in some of them, a big focus on profit over children. Teachers are just told to suck it up and get on with it, and the children are just seen as a dollar sign. - How do some centres try to cut costs? - I have heard of services that have cut corners around food. They don't want to... put extra into ensuring that the children are given the right amount of food to sustain their bodies. - They'll underfeed them? - Pretty much, yeah. - To save money. - Yeah. - She says some centres cut corners with other supplies too. - I have had communication with a teacher where there was a discussion around whether the child needed to stay in their nappy that they came in the day because there wasn't any extra nappies. - Leave them in their wet nappies all day? - Yeah. - And the centre didn't pay for any or have any back stock available? - Yeah. - Helen says one of her former managers told her off when she tried to tell a parent their son had fallen off a sandpit and had his head. - She had a complete meltdown around it, and she said, 'I told you that I didn't need that to be written up. 'Look at the amount of work that you're making me do now because I have to go and report that.' So there's a real sense that certain things parents don't need to know. - The legal minimum ratio for kids 2 and above is one teacher to 10 children, but Helen says she's worked at several centres that cheat the system. - I have had up to 17 children by myself, at one go, outside in the playspace and no... other adult around. And then when asked for support, was told, 'This is Ministry ratios. You're OK.' 'We've got enough adults in the building.' - But that's well below minimum legal ratio. - Yeah. - Through using a loophole. - Yeah. - How common is that? - It's very common. - Wow. - Yeah. - I think that would strike fear into the hearts of parents around New Zealand. Helen is a passionate advocate for improving ratios because even when centres do operate at the legal bare minimum, it's not enough. - It's just a lot of crying, a lot of unsettled children. You'll have teachers running around just not knowing where to plug the hole at that space. I have been in those situations where I did feel like a scene, like, 'Oh my gosh, what am I going to do now?' Because you can't get to all the children in one go. - So it's carnage, basically. Yeah. - Yeah, yeah. You can't operate quality engagements and care on Ministry ratios. It's just not safe. Internally, you just want to scream because it's just not good enough. (APPLAUSE) - I want to say a big thanks to Helen for sharing her story, but I also spoke to four other teachers off-camera. It's hard to speak about these things if you're currently in the industry. And one thing that they all said was they just feel this incredible sense of guilt and failure when they inevitably leave those jobs, those low-quality centres. They can't hack it any more, and the kids can't leave. So they feel so guilty, and they feel like a failure because they're leaving them in there. - Yeah, I mean, it's not at all surprising. You've got to remember that teaching, obviously, is a profession that you know that you have an impact, hopefully a positive impact on the lives of children, whanau, and their in the community. So to not be able to do that job to a high standard, you're bound to feel really guilty. - And one of the reasons why teachers and children are finding it so tough is these ratios. Helen talked about it. We have really, really bad ratios in New Zealand. So, for babies you only have to have one teacher to every five babies, Five babies! Then once the kid hits 2, you only have to have one teacher to every 10 2-year-olds. So, as soon as one needs the nappy changes, there's nine kids running around with no one. And so it's really, really hard to teach properly. And researchers talk about this thing called toxic stress. If a kid is in that environment day after day after day, it starts to impact their brain. They're in fight or flight mode. It can either come out as aggression ` that's the fight ` or they can have their brain just shut down on them. It tries to protect itself, and that's the flight mode. And then they just can't learn. They can't learn. - Yeah, I mean, that's the thing. These ratios are an absolute joke. Like, at Adelaide Early Childhood into where I worked, we purposely had a ratio of 1:5, and that was for over-2s. 1:10 ` I mean, you can't be teaching at that ratio. All you're doing is supervising and hoping some child doesn't really hurt or maim themselves. And for babies ` 1:5, that is absolutely diabolical. - Yeah, it is a real worry. And Karen, in terms of your investigation tonight ` your other investigation. - My main one. - What sort of mahi have you been out there doing for us? - Well, I'm going to start, as I did last week, Paddy, with a very important question for you. Are you a Swiftie? - I knew you were trouble. (LAUGHTER) - But that doesn't answer my question. - It's a Taylor Swift song. - Oh yeah, I knew that, obviously, because obviously I'm very aware of the fact that Taylor Swift is doing this amazing big tour. But sadly ` I mean, terribly ` Aotearoa is not on the list. This is basically kind of, I think, one of the biggest issues that I've had to tackle so far. (LAUGHTER) It is, actually. Yeah, they're worried about it. Now, look, I actually used my early childhood skills to get together a group of these five Swifties, the ratio 1:5 while I was looking after them. It was actually quite a good ratio, but I still felt a little bit like it was a little bit dangerous. Check it out. - Swifties. They're not actually people who move really fast. They're hardcore Taylor Swift fans who are prepared to spend whole days with multiple computers open just for the opportunity to pay an exorbitant amount of money for concert tickets. But some of them are really struggling, and I want to see what I can do to help. Obviously, I'm aware that there are a lot of passionate Swifties in New Zealand. I mean, how many how many are we talking? Anyone got any sort of ideas, guesstimates? - 90%. - 90%. That's a lot of people. What is it you love so much about Taylor Swift? - Her personality. She's just an icon. - She's the moment. - She's the moment. The song she's done, we've probably all been there at some stage. So, relatable. - She is a living legend. - Mm-hm. She is alive, yes. - # Cos baby, now we got bad blood. # You know we used to be mad love. # - Taylor Swift announced that she's doing this big tour. The moment you realise that Aotearoa was not on that list, I mean, how did you feel? - Enraged. - People were texting me as if someone had died. - Wow. Who actually got tickets and is heading over the ditch? Tickets, tickets. Tickets. Did you just sit in one spot glued to your screen? - I had a few different people trying for me. - So you roped in some people. - I had staff. - So you had staff? - Yeah, because I know how much of a fan I am. - And they must be mega fans of yours. - Well, one of them was my sister. - Who's the other one? - Um, an ex. - An ex? - Yeah. - They obviously want you back. - # We are never, # ever, ever, # getting back together. # - This is not on purpose, but there does happen to be a piano here in the meeting room. I thought maybe you could teach me a Taylor Swift song, and we could just have a little bit of singalong. What would be a song that we think would be a good one for me to learn on the piano? - Love Story. - Love a love story. How's that one go? - # And I said, # 'Romeo, take me # 'somewhere we can be alone. # 'I'll be waiting. # 'All there's left to do is run.' # (APPLAUSE) - That was powerful. What can we do to the people that aren't as lucky as you guys to make sure that they're having just as good a time as they would if they'd gone to Australia? Any ideas about that? - A free Taylor Swift t-shirt or something? - T-shirt? Yeah, we could do some t-shirts. Is that enough to make up for missing this kind of show? I think what I'll do is I'll have a little bit of think about what we can do, and I want you guys to be part of it. Do you think we can do that? - ALL: Yeah, yeah. - That was pretty meh. Do you think we can do it? - Yeah! (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) - You set yourself a really big goal today. If you can't bring those Swifties Taylor Swift, then you've failed, Karen. - I know it's a big ask. It was like trying to get those guys to sing in tune with that piano. But you know what? As always, Paddy, I am so committed to this and to achieving a result. So I've managed to talk to someone who actually` You know, he's got the contacts to make this kind of thing happen. - Wow. I cannot wait to see this. Coming up ` the big boss of Eden Park takes Karen very seriously as she demands answers about Taylor Swift's shameful Kiwi no-show. And the desperate Kiwi mum who feels like she is letting her family down. She can't get day-care, so she can't work. - Nau mia, hoki mai. We are about to visit a place where the waiting list for day-care is three years. You might need to sign up before you even met your partner. But first ` they put the 'news' in 'News Zealand'. It's my news desk, Courtney and Eli. Tell me what's happening out there. - Sure thing, Paddy. Let's see how New Zealand Has Issues. - It's been a huge week for Labour as they finally come to the campaign party and announced their slogan 'In It For You.' Unfortunately, the 'it' they are referring to is a recession. - You know, I was hoping that they'd continue what they started with Jacinda. They had 'Let's Do This', 'Let's Keep Doing This', and this one should have just been, 'OK, We Are Actually Going To Do It Now.' - They had a glitzy launch for the slogan by an intersection, and his cohort have clearly all been practising their very natural laughter for his jokes. - So far, all we've heard from the National Party are slogans. (LAUGHTER) - OK, relax, guys. You're at a slogan launch, not Kiri Allan's staff meeting. - And Chippy will be delivering more of those killer gags at his upcoming stand-up special, 'Delirious'. - Oh my God, I cannot wait. Of course, the most important part of a new Labour slogan is what National thinks of it. - I don't think actually New Zealand need slogans. I think what New Zealand needs is real substantive answers. Oh, our slogan will be 'Get Our Country Back On Track'. - To be honest, we did edit that clip a little bit unfairly. There was like 30 seconds between him contradicting himself. - Their slogan is 'Getting New Zealand Back On Track', which is pretty accurate for two men who look like they got lost while hiking. - And finally, we have exciting news. One of our favourite Kiwis got a shout-out on international TV, and the Australian broadcasters were incredibly respectful. - You & I is her third studio album and is described as a diary of the last few years. Now, in that time, she's fallen in love and married filmmaker Taika Wakataki. - She doesn't know how to pronounce his name, just like how none of us knew that Rita Ora has three albums. - Well, she really pulled that K out of nowhere. I felt like I was at a gay bar. - That's all from us. Back to you, Paddy Wackakakaka. (APPLAUSE) - Thank you, my news ducka-wackas. So, why is childcare in New Zealand in such a mess, and are we paying too much for it? It's time to go behind the issue. There are 220,000 Kiwi babies and toddlers in Early Childhood Education right now. They are looked after by 4500 ECE centres, play centres, kindies, kohanga reo, and home-based care. ECE centres ` day-care ` are by far the biggest ` more than half. Most day-cares are businesses. They get government funding ` the famous 20 hours free ` and they get fees from parents. A lot of fees. New Zealand parents spend the most on childcare out of all the countries like us. Look at us right up there. Now, when the 20 hours free policy came out in 2007, the costs parents paid did almost half initially, but by 2012, they were right back up again as the National government decreased per-child funding and centres found ways to charge parents more. And they have stayed way up ever since. Now, our regulations here are really quite loose too. Here's these ratios that we talked about earlier. For kids over 2, centres need a ratio of one teacher for every 10 toddlers, and it's one teacher for every five babies aged under 2-years-old. It's effectively one person looking after quintuplets all day long. Now in Australia, each teacher is only in charge of four kids under 2. Then, there's group sizes. There is no limit whatsoever. It is not uncommon to have groups of up to 50. Now, experts say small kids aren't capable of recognising 50 people. It stresses their brains. Now, if a centre is not looking after kids properly, they'll have their licence to operate made 'provisional'. The number of centres on that shit list has almost tripled since 2016. There are 208 on it right now, and centres are dropping like flies. 10 years ago, 40 or 50 services closed each year. Over the last 12 months, there were 232 closures. So it's a sector in chaos, in crisis. Nearly everyone is suffering ` the parents, the teachers, the businesses. But don't worry about them. It's the kids that matter, and our kids are suffering. And on top of everything we just heard, would you believe there are places in New Zealand where you can't even get day-care? Black spots. Now, Janika is going to take us to a town of more than 5000 people with no day-care available to meet a mother who is desperate. - JANIKA: Cromwell is an attractive and fast-growing central Otago town. But there's a big setback for families who live here. It's a childcare desert. Waitlists are three years long. The centres here are getting up to 10 desperate inquiries from families every week, and they just can't help them. They're closing their waitlist because someone inquiring about care for a 2-year-old at the moment would be unlikely to get a spot for that child until they're school-age anyway. - Wake up. Blue eyes like me! - She does have blue eyes like you. I've emailed every single place that I could in Cromwell. Everywhere was the same. 'We can pop you on the list to get put on a waiting list.' So, essentially, it's, like, a waiting list to be on a waiting list. - # Let it go! # Let it go! - Can you go to this end here? - Cassie has managed to get part- time spots at kindie for 4-year-old Ariana and 2-year-old Sophie, but that was years ago. With 4-month-old Mila, it's a completely different story. So when did you sort of start calling around? - It was just straight away, as soon as I was pregnant. Most of the centres said, 'Well, sorry, your child's not born yet,' or 'There's no point because our waiting lists are so long.' - Cassie is desperate to get back to work. Even with her partner working as a heavy machinery operator, the family needs more income to cope with the cost of living. - By the time we've paid off, you know, the rent, the food, gas, car... You name it` Insurance, everything on top of that, you know, we` we're just surviving at the moment. - For three months, she worked nights waiting tables. - It was just exhausting. I would get home at 2 in the morning most nights and still have to feed my middle child, tend to her, and then when I'd get up in the morning at 5... I'd be starting my day and then doing it again, starting work at 6. I couldn't keep up with it. I wasn't able to be the mother that I wanted to be because I'd wake up, and I'd be so exhausted, you know. I wouldn't want to go for walks. I didn't want to take my children to the park. I don't think any mother should have to be a full-time mum during the day and then have to work six hours during the night and then come back and be a full-time mother and over and continuous until you burn out, essentially. Do it taste yummy? - Would you say that you feel trapped? Is that a good way to characterise it? That feeling of not... - Yeah, helplessness. I would say it's helplessness. I feel like I can't help my family, and it's not because I don't want to. It's just because I can't. I can't get day-care, so I can't. - So it's hard enough to get your child into day-care in a place like Auckland, let alone Cassie. No options. And it's just really surprisingly emotional to be there with her and her children because they are trapped. They have no way to improve their lives. She's lived in Cromwell her whole life. Her husband is building the town, fuelling its growth, and they can't improve themselves financially or mentally. - And it's a cost of living crisis at the moment, as everybody knows. How much is this costing people? - It varies wildly. It's very hard to say. We surveyed 60 parents on one of my parent Facebook groups, and they said that they were paying anywhere between $50 to $80 a day. So it's a lot. And if you have two children, you know, it's not unusual to be paying $800 a week. Could be more than your rent or mortgage. - Wow. - Yeah, that's the thing. Like you say, it's so stressful for parents, but at least in that case, there were two parents, and they've got some financial resources. Imagine being a solo parent or someone without that safe financial backing. But also, ultimately, the core of this is what's happening for these children. Not having access to quality early childhood education those first thousand days ` such a crucial time for children. - Yes, it is a real issue. And coming up, Janika meets the devastated woman who has had to close three day-care centres. Why she says the system is broken. And Karen finds out the real reason that Tay Tay is not coming to New Zealand, and forms a cunning plan. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) - Welcome back, Kiwis. Now coming up, Karen heads to Eden Park to try and organise a venue for Taylor Swift to play in. - Hey, Paddy, my script says to ask you if there's any good news at all tonight. - Well, thank you very much for asking that question, Courtney, because there is. It's time for No Issues. I've got no issues with people getting high while they die. Hear me out here. I'm talking about party drugs, things that people use to get out of it. MDMA. It's called ecstasy, E, or disco biscuits. Some of you will be wondering what a disco biscuit is, what it does, and even more so, why I would be suggesting that you take one when you are dying. Well, for anybody who hasn't been on the gear, when it comes on ` boom. All you want to do is hug, dance and talk shit. It makes you feel good. Allegedly. It is also illegal, but MDMA works by temporarily reducing activity in the amygdala, a region of the brain associated with fear. Last week we investigated cancer. We found out that it sucks. It comes with anxiety, depression, pain and regrets, and of course, fear. MDMA can help with all that. And that's why there are clinical trials about to get underway for terminal cancer patients here in New Zealand. With 40 years of the War on Drugs, the world had its blinkers on. Nobody looked at the good that the stuff could do. Now there is a global revolution of science, and it's not just MDMA, but other potential medicines like LSD, ketamine and mushrooms. Why should MDMA be widely used by youngsters at Rhythm and Vines but not available in a hospice for the people who could actually really do with it? So good luck to the scientists doing the clinical trials, and I'm absolutely stoked for the people who get to be the guinea pigs. That's why I've got no issues with getting high while you die. - Wow. Paddy, do you have any issues with people getting high at the office? - Eli, no. - What if` - I mean, I do. (LAUGHS) - What if I'm at the office, and I feel like I'm dying? - Yeah, we all feel like that. OK, Karen, the whole country is counting on you to get Taylor Swift in New Zealand. - Yep. - Are you going to do it? - Well, yes, obviously. You know, Eden Park is kind of known as the entertainment centre of New Zealand. So I went and talked to the Australian guy who's the big head of Eden Park to ask him some pretty serious questions. - I'm Nick Sautner. I'm chief executive of Eden Park, New Zealand's national stadium. - You used to play a bit of Aussie Rules, didn't you? - I did, that's right. - Nick Sautner has kicked more than 600 goals in this competition. - Number 11, Nick Sautner! - I used to watch you on the telly. - Would you like a signature? - I need to ask you one question. It's a pretty simple one. Why isn't Taylor Swift coming to Aotearoa? - Well, I was going to start by saying I'm extremely disappointed. There's a number of factors that influence artists and also promoters to bring content to New Zealand. - And it's not that Taylor Swift is like 'New Zealand? Not bothered.' That's not the case? - No, not at all. When we got wind of a potential tour, we're proactive, working with promoters. - What avenues were you going down? - We had a great relationship with our ex Member of Parliament and also Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. - Yeah, I've heard of her. - As a woman of influence on the world stage, perhaps a tweet or an Instagram post could have perhaps convinced Taylor. - So, she was keen? She was on board? - Well, it was during that time where she was making a decision on her future, and she probably had other priorities. - Bigger than Taylor Swift? - Well... - How do we make these big artists come to New Zealand? You know, they want to come. How do we make sure that they can? - So the funding model to attract these types of events needs to change. We're seeing where the Perth Government investing millions of dollars to secure Coldplay. So for us, I think we need to look at it from a central government perspective, but also a council perspective. - Do you think Wayne Brown'll be up for that? - I had him the other day dribbling on the roof, and he was definitely interested` - He was dribbling on the roof? - For FIFA promotion. - Right, yeah, yeah. Is there really a difference in terms of how the neighbourhood around Eden Park receives such events? - I had one complaint for Billy Joel, and the complaint was` - Terrible musician. - It was indeed, 'Could you turn it up? We couldn't hear on the balcony.' - They wanted him to sing them another song, he's the piano man. - That's the piano man. - I'm going to do some rapid fire now, OK. So it's got to be a quick response. - Yes. - OK. Really short, to the point. - # Are you ready for it? - OK, your favourite Taylor Swift song. - Shake it up. - Shake it off. - Shake it off. Apologies - Your favourite Taylor Swift era. - I think Reputation. - What colour is her hair? - Blonde. - Is she a good dancer? - Definitely. - How old is she? - It's not a question that I feel comfortable answering. - Because you don't know the answer. - Yes. - I think she's 33. - Ooh. Gee, she's good for her age then. - What is that supposed to mean? - Well, she's, like` She obviously is, in contrast to someone like myself. - How old are you? - I prefer not to answer. - But you already told me before the interview that you're 45. He's 45. Same as me. I still need to give Kiwi Swifties what they want. It's time for the last resort. Hey, it's Karen. You know how did that thing for you? Yeah. Look, I'm calling in the favour, OK? - # I'm so sick of running as fast as I can. - Yeah, look, me and 90% of New Zealand need your help. # ...if I was a man. - Can you help? Yes! OK. Thank you. Thanks. There's a free concert. It's just, um` up here. - # I'd be the man. # - OK, so the concert's on, and you had a choice between Eden Park, capacity 50,000, and that place you're putting posters on ` Vogelmorn Bowling Club. - Yeah. - What did you choose? - Well, I mean, it was tricky, but obviously Vogelmorn Bowling Club's, just, like, two minutes around the corner from my house, so I... And also the Swifties were down there, so I chose Vogelmorn Bowling Club. Yeah. - Well, I can't wait to see this concert at Vogelmorn Bowling Club. (CHUCKLES) All right. Coming up ` Janika meets the parents left scrambling after the day-care closed with just a few weeks notice. And Karen gives New Zealand the Taylor Swift concert we have been crying out for. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) - Nau mai, hoki mai, New Zealand. Big part coming up. We are going to meet a woman who has had to close down three day-care centres. And Karen brings us an absolutely epic Taylor Swift gig. But right now it's time to check in on the rest of the world. Eli and Courtney, tell me, tell me, tell me, please, that The World Has Issues too. - Thank you, Paddy. Well, this week the United States has issues with billionaire fight clubs because an online battle between Twitter and Instagram has boiled over into the real world, with the owners threatening to fight each other in real life. - Yes, that's right. Elon Musk has one-outsed Mark Zuckerberg and challenged him to a UFC fight. So, how did we get here? The feud started when Elon Musk, who you know from Tesla, SpaceX, and being a sleep paralysis demon, bought Twitter for $44 billion, and this was last year back when $44 billion was a lot of money. He immediately caused chaos by firing thousands of staff, trying to get users to pay for the site and tanking its value down to $15 billion, which is $1 billion for every kid that he has. - Despite the chaos, Twitter is still pretty popular with 368 million users. But competitors smell blood, and a couple of weeks ago, Facebook creator, Instagram owner and Simpsons character Mark Zuckerberg launched a site called Threads, which does pretty much exactly what Twitter does and got over 70 million users in just two days. You know, it's hard for knockoff websites to succeed, but it can be done. I mean, just look at Newshub. - Elon took this business attack personally and tweeted at Zuckerberg ` and yes, these are real tweets ` 'I'm up for a cage match if he is.' 'Zuck is a cuck.' And challenging him to a literal dick-measuring contest. You know what? There's no need for a contest, boys. I can confirm you are both huge dicks. - Zuckerberg, who Elon might not know is a legit Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor, accepted the fight offer via Instagram story and has since posed shirtless while training with New Zealand's own Israel Adesanya. That's Israel on the left, if you're confused. Truly though, when did Zuck get so ripped? I mean, Facebook? More like Bodybook, and I'll have a read. (CLICKS TONGUE) - And that's how Billionaire Fight Club was born. No date has been set, but it does look like it could actually happen. But I just want to say, please, guys, stop fighting each other and concentrate on the real enemies ` your ungrateful employees who want to unionise. - And that's all you need to know about that. How about a cage fight, Paddy? - Yeah, two on one, and I would win, but we'll have that after the show. Janika, back to you and your investigation. - You told us before about these skyrocketing closures, and it really does rip the heart out of a community when that happens all of a sudden. That's the way it usually happens, not much notice, and so I went to meet one community who's been through just that. - JANIKA: We're here in the Kapiti Coast, and we're off to see Bethany. The company that she works for has just had to shut three of the four day-cares that it owns, and this is the latest closure up here. It's just been turned into a residential property. So, we're off to meet her at the last remaining centre that's still open. Bethany O'Hagan is running this pre-school now, but she was the manager at the last centre to close. It shut about a year ago. - Can you see who is closest? - Do you remember the moment that you knew it was over? - Yup. Yup, I still remember it. Yup. Yup. Oh, no, no, now I'm gonna start` - That's OK. (CHILDREN CHATTER IN BACKGROUND) - Yup. - What was running through your head when you found out? - Oh, it was heartbreaking. It was really, really heartbreaking. I guess it's an industry that we don't get in it for anything but because we're passionate about what we do. So obviously, when you hear that it's not going to ever exist any more, it's heartbreaking. - With only a few weeks notice, parents had to scramble to find alternative care, and many found it quite unsettling. - I've seen him grow up, so it's very much been helping raise a family, the centre, so... (SOBS) That's very important, yeah. SOFTLY: So... Shush you. (SIGHS) Yeah. - It's quite jarring to have your child in an environment that you really love, and they're very settled and very secure, and then all of a sudden, you have to come up with a plan B. - Some parents couldn't find another centre with vacancies, so the local school agreed to take the 4-year-olds in early. The reason for the closures comes down to money. The smaller and independently-owned centres are finding it harder and harder to remain financially viable. - It made you angry that the sector that's so` apparently, so important, as all research shows, is just getting overlooked, and... such amazing little centres are just closing left, right and centre. - How would you describe the system as it is right now? - Absolutely, devastatingly broken. Um... Yeah. And it's at the point that so many just can't be in this industry any more because we're not able to be a teacher any more. We can't actually... Yeah, be happy about coming and doing what we're doing because it is so, so broken. (POIGNANT MUSIC) - Kathy Wolfe represents ECE providers and fears if something isn't done soon, more and more centres will have to close. - Many are making very hard decisions, and it's breaking` I mean, I've heard of services who have remortgaged their homes to keep their businesses open, and that's not what we want. We want to just have a meaningful funding system so early childhood services can actually focus on providing high-quality education and care. We don't want owners to be worrying about financial stresses of where their revenue is coming from or how are they going to fund that gap without increasing their fees too much that they know their parents can't afford. - The gap's between... - So, the gap is between the investment we get from the government and what we get from parents' fees or not. - So it's not adding up. - It's not adding up. And that's where the hard decisions are being made by the services in terms of either closing or charging more fees to parents. - So why are these centres all closing? The basic reason is there just isn't enough money. If centres want to provide care above the absolute bare minimum, they just can't afford it. On top of that, the government funding for 20 hours free is just not enough to cover the full cost of looking after the kids for 20 hours. And then there are rising costs as well, like pay parity. ECE teachers are now going to get the same pay as kindie teachers. Great for the teachers, but the centres aren't going to get enough extra money to fund that. - Yes, it's pretty complex. And there is one really important thing to point out here, and that is that there are these really big mega companies running chains with hundreds of day-cares around the country, and the top four get $450 million of government funding a year. And these larger companies with their economies of scale effectively just outcompete the smaller, not-for-profit organisations. Now, Karen, coming to you, and I know you're not in this for profit, but tell me that Tay Tay is coming to Aotearoa New Zealand. - Paddy, Tay Tay is coming to Aotearoa New Zealand. - (LAUGHS) - Is that what you wanted me to say? - That is what I wanted you to say, but I wanted it to be true. (CHUCKLES) - Well, look, I've organised an amazing gig of sorts. - KAREN: After a 10-minute rehearsal and two hours in the makeup chair, I'm ready to give these Swifties the time of their life. I've gotta do it. I've gotta do it for the fans. (EXHALES) I've gotta do it for the country. (EXHALES RAPIDLY) Gotta do it for Paddy. That's a lot of pressure. You look exactly like Taylor Swift. You are Taylor Swift. (CROWD CHEERS) Keep going, keep going. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Have we got any Swifties out there? (CROWD CHEERS) (BAND PLAYS 'SHAKE IT OFF') # I stay out too late. # Got nothing in my brain. # That's what people say-ay-ay, mm-mm. # I got on too many dates # but I can't make them stay. # That's what people say-ay-ay, mm-mm. # But I keep cruising. # Can't stop, won't stop moving. # It's like I got this music # in my mind, saying, 'It's gonna be all right.' # Cos the players gonna play, play, play, play, play. # And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. # Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. # Shake it off. # Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break, # and the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake. # I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. # Shake it off. # (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Thank you! What do you think? What do you think of my version of the tour? - I think Taylor's got a tough act to follow. She might be too scared to come to New Zealand after this. - It was amazing. I've lost my voice. - If you can see, like, I'm crying. I'm literally crying. - Yeah. - You did really well. - Yeah. - Did really well as in was amazing? - HIGH`PITCHED: Yeah. - Do you think that I look a bit like Taylor Swift? - Um... a little bit. - Yeah, it's very, like, Fearless era. You've got the sequins, the sparkles, the glitter. - Where would you put me and where would you put Taylor? - Because she's not coming to New Zealand... - Down. Probably` Yeah. But if she came, and she was performing on the same night as me, for instance... - Hard call, but I would go to you. - I'd feel like I'd go half and half, you know. - I might also have to go to yours. - And while Taylor Swift might pack out stadiums, she definitely doesn't have this. Put your hands together for the number one DJ in Aotearoa, DJ Paddy... G! (CROWD ERUPTS) - # James Dean, day dream, # look in your eye. # And I got that red lip # classic thing that you like. # (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) - Paddy, Karen told me she could sing. She told me she could sing! (LAUGHS) - I can actually sing. A, I think Taylor Swift has auto-tune or something, but also her range is quite different to mine. - She would have been auto-assisted or whatever. Got it. - Yeah. Why don't we have that on this show? - Yeah, all right. After all that effort and, of course, my own DJing, there is no way that I can say that you failed. But I can say we do definitely need to get the real thing here, so, Tay Tay, I have got an issue with you. Come to New Zealand, please. - I'm pretty sure that's definitely going to do the trick, Paddy. Yeah, but don't forget, if you guys have got an issue, or you want me to come and perform as your favourite pop star, Please get in touch... - All right. Coming up, I sit down with the expert who has simple and real answers for our day-care crisis. Why isn't anyone listening? (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) Welcome back, Kiwis. Mike Bedford is a passionate advocate for reforming and overhauling Early Childhood Education. He's been involved in the sector for 30 years, and he's given us five fairly simple fixes. What do we need to do immediately to make Early Childhood Education safer in this country? - First of all, we've got to improve the ratios. Get rid of the 1:5 ratio for children under 2 and move immediately to 1:4. That is critical because that's the most dangerous thing we have in the sector. In infancy, there's a part of our brain, particularly the amygdala, but the emotional centres of the brain that are in their calibration stage. They're learning, 'What do I have to respond to?' 'When am I OK? When am I not OK?' And we're putting children into environments that are saying, 'You are not OK. You are not OK.' We're reinforcing anxiety in children. We're hard-wiring it. And we've got to stop doing that. We have to have emotionally secure environments for our babies and toddlers. The next step is get rid of the 1:10 ratio for toddlers. Move to a 1:8 with group size controls. - And there's absolutely no limit on group sizes, is there? - Group size is a real big issue. Sometimes that can mean group sizes of over 50 children under 5-years-old, great big groups of infants and toddlers. That is crazy. It becomes chaotic in terms of relationships. It means that children who are overstimulated are going to act out a lot more, be harder to manage. They will impact on other children. Quieter children, some of those may be the ones really needing attention. They get lost in the crowd. The other is that we've got to get rid of the archaic, not fit-for-purpose licensing system. At the moment the licensing system favours the worst providers because it encourages poor quality. There's no incentive for quality in the current system. To turn this around, there's no question it has to be properly funded. But at the moment the sector is also bleeding money to a small proportion of owners who are taking a huge amount of profit. So, you can make huge money in the sector, and there are people making tens of millions of dollars a year in the sector operating at minimum standard. But if you try to do quality for children, you're going to financially struggle. We have very poor regulations, poor monitoring of that. The Ministry of Education just doesn't monitor the regulations properly. They don't check ratios. So, we need much better regulations, better monitoring. That's child safety. (CHEERING, APPLAUSE) - Lots of good ideas in that interview, and on the important issue of ratios, we've been in touch with the Ministry of Education, Labour and also National. They all say they do want to change the ratios, and in the current government's case, they plan to change them, but there's no immediate date as to when. - Yeah. Well, thank you very much for your investigation, Janika. It's been amazing. And thank you, Karen, for whatever the hell that was that you did. That was amazing, too. And of course, thank you to Eli and Courtney on the news desk. Thank you so much. Now, tonight, my issue was with the disaster in our day-cares, and this isn't going to take long because for me, it goes like this. These are our kids and our babies. What the hell are we doing? The most basic rule of life is that children come first, but we are putting our tamariki into a broken and busted system. We just talked about a whole lot of solutions. But you know what's lacking? Urgency. There needs to be urgency. Our kids need us to fix this now. I'm Paddy Gower. Those are my issues, and I'm going to miss youse. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air.