Nine To Noon for Tuesday 15 December 2015

09:05 New court recommended for sexual offences

The Law Commission is recommending radical changes on how sexual violence cases are dealt with, including the ability for some sex offence cases to be handled outside of the judicial system. The Commission says as many as 80 percent of sexual violence cases go unreported - largely because victims find the current system alienating, traumatising - and they do not trust it. And for those victims where the perpetrator is an intimate partner or family member, there can be a fear of how a trial and the resulting guilt and shame might impact on a family. Nine to Noon speaks to the commission's president Sir Grant Hammond.

09:30 Proposal for new road through Kahurangi National Park

The Buller District Council wants the Government to fund an investigation into the new Wangapeka Road link, which would run from Little Wanganui, near Karamea, to the Motueka Valley.
The Transport Minister Simon Bridges has said he is open to having a look at it.
But local environmental groups like forest and bird are staunchly opposed, and say it will never happen as it will be too expensive, a logistical nightmare and will require a law change.

Kevin Hackwell is the Advocacy Manager for Forest and Bird

David Bridger owns the Old Slaughterhouse backpackers in Hector, about half way between Westport and Karamea

09:45 United States correspondent Susan Milligan

10:05 Heidi Thomas - one of Bill Cosby's accusers

Heidi Thomas is one of more than 50 women who have accused veteran US actor and comedian Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting and stupefying them. The accusations have only recently come to light against Cosby, who is now 78 years old,  but some complaints date as far back as 1965. Heidi Thomas was an aspiring model and actress and she claims she was drugged and sexually assaulted, in the 1980s. She says in 1984 her agency sent her to Reno, where Bill Cosby was doing some shows, and the actor asked her to perform a monologue for him -  she later woke up to find that he was naked in bed with her. She like many of the other women are now speaking out, after staying quiet for decades.

10:35 Book review

Gail Pittaway reviews Wild Swan by Michael Cunningham & Yuko Shimizu

10:45 The Reading

Chappy by Patricia Grace told by Jim Moriarty and Simon Leary  (Part 10 of 12)         

11:05 Business commentator Rod Oram

What is the response of business to the COP 21 climate deal which has been struck in Paris?

11:30 How to grow an addict

Jodi Wright, writes as JA Wright. Her book  How to Grow an Addict reflects some elements of he early life, as a drug and alcohol addicted teen in the US. The novel is an insight into a young girl's descent into addiction and her struggle for redemption. Jodi Wright moved from the Pacific Northwest  to New Zealand in 1990 with her young family. She's been crafting this novel since she stopped using drugs and alcohol in 1985.
 

11:45 Media commentator, Gavin Ellis