Nine To Noon for Monday 29 January 2018

 

09:05 National Standards: over and out

Education Minister Chris Hipkins on scrapping National Standards and what replaces them. National Standards have provided information on a child's achievement and progress in reading, writing, and maths since they were introduced in 2010. Making the announcement last month, Mr Hipkins said both schools and parents had lost confidence in the assessment tool, and that they had "clearly failed".

09:30 Christchurch Cleans Up

Christchurch City Council has saved more than 23 tonnes of rubbish from heading to the landfill, by insisting all major events use compostable food packaging. It might seem a small change, but it's making a big difference – some events in the city have gone from a zero to 80 per cent recycling rate in less than a year. Kathryn Ryan speaks with the council's sustainable events coordinator, Shanti Campbell.

09:45 Africa correspondent Debora Patta

South Africa President Jacob Zuma could soon be kicked out as leader; and Cape Town could become the first major city in the world to run out of water, due to a severe drought.

10:05 Emma Marris - expanding our definition of nature

Environmental writer Emma Marris is the author of the book Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World. She has worked for many years as a reporter for the journal, Nature, and her work has been published in many other publications including National Geograhic, The New York Times, Discover and Slate. Emma says we've become too focused on trying to restore nature to the way it was – she calls it the "cult of pristine wilderness". She argues it is both culturally and ecologically harmful, and instead, we should be expanding our definition of nature, to include not just iconic protected national parks, but other areas far more touched by humans.

10:35 Book Review - Best of 2017

Louise Ward from Wardini Books reviews:

Moonrise by Sarah Crossan, published by Bloomsbury, RRP $19.00

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman, published by Simon & Schuster Ltd RRP $37.99

The Traitor and the Thief by Gareth Ward, published by Walker Books Australia, RRP $20.00

10:45 The Reading

Gutter Black by Dave McArtney read by Phil O'Brien. Episode 1 of 6.

11:05 Political commentators Stephen Mills & Matthew Hooton

After a reasonably positive reception at Rātana, Jacinda Ardern is heading to Waitangi this Thursday, for her first visit as Prime Minister; Trade Minister David Parker heads to the World Economic Forum in Davos amidst talks of the newly revamped TPP agreement; and workers who have been hired and fired under the 90-day trial period are pleading with the government to scrap the law all together.

11:30 Recipes and ideas for a calmer way of life

Eleanor Ozich set out to enjoy a much calmer way of life after moving to the outskirts of the city with her husband and young family. Shedding unnecessary clutter and adopting a simpler style of living, she found herself with more time and energy to appreciate her family and friends and the natural beauty that surrounded her. She's just released her third book, The Art of Simple, a collection of recipes and ideas she has embraced in her quest to cherish life's simple pleasures.

• Dark Chocolate, Prune and Hazelnut Torte
• Simple One-pot Pasta

11:45 Off the beaten track with Kennedy Warne

Kennedy discusses the politics of place, as displayed in two recent ventures that have attracted both praise and criticism: a new track on Te Mata Peak and a satellite launched from Mahia Peninsula.

 

 

Music played in this show

Artist: Omar
Song: Hold Me Closer
Comp: Gainsbourg / de Homem-Christo
Album: Rest
Label: Because Music
Broadcast Time: 11:31am