Nine To Noon for Thursday 3 August 2023

 

 

09:05 Should volunteer wardens 'supplement' police in downtown Auckland?

The Police Association responds to the Police Minister's call for a greater role volunteer wardens to help patrol Auckland's city centre. The recent fatal shooting at a construction site has renewed calls from community and business leaders for more police on the streets. Police minister Ginny Andersen met with the central business association Chief Executive Viv Beck last week, suggesting that co-ordination between Māori and ethnic wardens could help free-up the police to respond to crime in the area. Kathryn discusses the suggestion with Viv Beck, is Chief Executive of Heart of the City and president of the Police Association, Chris Cahill.

09:15 Mobility park battle: Petitioner takes her fight to select committee

One woman's fight for a uniform rule and greater penalties for misusing mobility parking spaces continues. Claire Dale petitioned Parliament last year - asking for higher penalties for people who park in a mobility spots and to expand it to include privately-held land that's used by the public - retail spaces and supermarkets, for example. She'll be making her case in person to the Petitions Committee later today. The Ministry of Transport provided a report on the issue to the Committee, saying it was "reviewing regulations" over the issue but that enforcement is complicated. In an interim report the Committee said it was "hopeful" the fine would be raised and that an education campaign would help educate people about misusing the parks. Kathryn speaks to Claire ahead of her select committee appearance

09:30 17 years leading the country's biggest school: Te Kura's Mike Hollings

Mike Hollings is retiring after 17 years at the helm of the country's biggest school , Te Kura, previously known as The Correspondence School. Enrolments at Te Kura have increased by more than 2,000 in the past year to 30,000 students - the equivalent of about 60 schools. The biggest increase is in the so-called "non-enrolled" category where a a student's previous school has taken them off the roll because they weren't attending. Yesterday new data showed 15-percent of last year's school leavers had no qualifications, and 20-percent were under the age of 17. So how does Te Kura keep young people with a range of challenges in the education system, and should it have a greater role for  as a first school of choice rather than school of last resort? Mike Hollings speaks with Kathryn on the eve of his retirement.

09:45 UK: New oil and gas permits, interest rate hike expected, asylum barge safety concerns

UK correspondent Harriet Line joins Kathryn to talk about the government announcing new licences for North Sea oil and gas reserves, which PM Rishi Sunak says is "entirely consistent" with net zero commitments. Interest rates look set to be hiked again tomorrow, which will place further pressure on households. And plans to house asylum seekers on a giant barge have been delayed, amid reports it's been described as a "floating Grenfell". 

Harriet Line is Deputy Political Editor of the Daily Mail.

10:05 ENT specialist Kelvin Kong: improving Australasian indigenous health

 

Kelvin Kong is Australia's first Indigenous surgeon, Ear Nose and Throat Specialist. A Worimi man, he has spent much of his career dedicated to early intervention for middle ear disease. As a doctor, researcher and lecturer, Professor Kong is well versed on inequities in the health system, and says some simple medical interventions for ear disease in children can change their ability to learn and their lives. He just returned home from a gathering in Auckland of 50 surgeons and surgical trainees of Māori, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent. He was a keynote speaker at the Indigenous Hui, organised by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

 

10:35 Book review: Why is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me?: Searching for the Truth on Political TV by Rob Burley 

Dean Bedford reviews Why is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me?: Searching for the Truth on Political TV by Rob Burley published by HarperCollins

10:45 Around the motu: Jimmy Ellingham in Palmerston North

Mayor Grant Smith is defending Palmerston North after ESPN reported a source close to the Spanish Women's World Cup team said they left the city two days early because it's boring. Staff cutbacks are brewing at Massey University, as the main campus in Manawatu, as well as  Auckland and Wellington, has been unable to escape the troubles the tertiary sector is experiencing - falling student numbers and overseas students staying away. The University is asking for expressions of interest for voluntary redundancies. And Jimmy talks to Kathryn about two local centenarians, both WWII vets, Eddie Chapman, and Oliver Candy, who recently passed away.

RNZ Checkpoint reporter Jimmy Ellingham based in Manawatu

 

11:05 Technology: School smartphone ban, Threads down, Tesla range overestimate

Technology correspondent Bill Bennett joins Kathryn to talk about Unesco's call for a ban on smartphones in schools, warning policy makers against an 'unthinking embrace' of digital technology in education. Mark Zuckerberg's Threads platform started with a bang, but it appears to have fizzled out. The US is reportedly hunting hidden Chinese malware that could affect military operations and Tesla is alleged to have rigged its dashboards to overestimate the range of its cars - prompting so many range complaints it created a special team to cancel owners' service appointments.

11:25 Parenting: Mindfulness with children

In parenting today we are exploring how play therapy can be used by parents and caregivers to respond to kids, and incorporated into every day activities. Angela North is a psychologist with 30 years' experience employing play therapy with children, adolescents and their families. She says it can be used to help to treat a range of emotional and behavioral problems. Along with Dr Stephen McKenzie, she has written the book Mindfulness at Play. It's a guide for helping parents to really be in the moment with the children despite the distractions of busy lives. Angela North says the principles of mindfulness can help children with self esteem and to manage their emotions.

 

11:45 Screentime: Mrs Davis The Beanie Bubble, Past Lives

Film and TV correspondent Chris Schulz joins Kathryn to talk about Mrs Davis - an Artificial Intelligence that a nun named Simone is tasked with helping to destroy. He'll also look at movie The Beanie Bubble (Apple), which draws on a  2015 article that explored the rise and fall of the infamous stuffed toy. And Past Lives is a romantic drama in which two childhood friends reunite long after one of them has emigrated from South Korea.