Nine To Noon for Tuesday 15 August 2023

 

09:05 Consumer NZ sceptical GST on fruit and veg will reach shoppers

Labour's policy to remove GST on fruit and vegetables - previously labelled as 'boondoggle' by its own Finance Minister - has found few friends since its announcement on Sunday. Labour is promising to take the 15 percent goods and services tax off  fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables from April 2024. But the policy has been almost universally criticised by economists and tax experts, who argue supermarkets will not pass on any savings to shoppers and that it will be difficult to administer. Consumer New Zealand, which pushed for the Commerce Commission inquiry into supermarkets, is also sceptical savings will be passed on. Susie speaks with Chief Executive, Jon Duffy.

 

09:10 'Proxy debt collector': budgeting services call for end to benefit attachment orders

Budgeting services are calling for an end to attachment orders which take automatic debt repayments from people's benefits. The Ministry of Justice can impose an order on someone who owes money, for instance unpaid court fines, and deduct this from their weekly payments. Because it is easier legally to deduct from a benefit than a wage, 80 percent of the orders are on beneficiaries. Auckland Central Budgeting Consultants says it's adding financial strain on those who can least afford it. In a statement Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni says MSD does not have the authority to consider a challenge to a court attachment order. However staff are instructed to advise clients suffering undue hardship to contact the courts if they want a reassessment. Financial consultant and mentor Tim Maurice speaks with Susie Ferguson.

09:30 Lifting the lid on Catholic clergy abuse: Boston Globe former editor

It is 20 years since the Boston Globe exposed the abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic church world wide. Two weeks ago The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry's released its interim report into Marylands School for disabled boys in Christchurch, finding widespread sexual and physical abuse of students between 1955 and 1984.The Press newspaper in Christchurch began reporting on the horrors at Marylands School in 2002. Martin Baron was the editor of the Boston Globe, and its award winning Spotlight investigative team which tenaciously uncovered widespread sexual abuse by priests, hushed up by the church paying private settlements to claimants. The story was adapted for the big screen - Spotlight winning two academy awards. He joins Susie Ferguson to talk about the impact of the Spotlight team's work, two decades on.

09:45 USA correspondent Ximena Bustillo

Ximena says abortion issues are top of mind ahead of 2024, but the GOP keeps losing on the issue at the local level. President Joe Biden has designated a new national monument near the Grand Canyon preserving land that is deemed sacred to Indigenous peoples. The move, which affects close to 1 million acres, will permanently ban uranium mining. There's more Supreme Court drama surrounding Justice Clarence Thomas and the reporting of gifts and Ximena will have another update on former President Donald Trump's indictment.

Ximena Bustillo is an NPR politics reporter based in Washington

10:05 Zahra Joya: Afghan journalist-in-exile on the plight of women in Afghanistan

It's two years since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan and for the country's women, the time has passed with a slow but steady erosion of their human rights. Despite promising in August 2021 to honour women's rights, the Taliban have introduced restrictions aimed at eradicating the presence of women outside the home. They are banned from education after primary school, excluded from most jobs and unable to hold public positions. They're barred from the gym, public parks and playgrounds and last month were told they could no longer go to the beauty salon - one of the last places women and girls were free to meet. One of those determined to let the world know what's happening to women inside Afghanistan is Zahra Joya. She was just a child when the Taliban took over in 1996 - and banned girls from going to school. She dressed as a boy to get around the rule, with the support of her family. Zahra escaped Kabul when the Taliban seized control in 2021 and runs her company, Rukhshana Media, from London. Her efforts in giving a voice to the women who have been silenced earned her a place as one of Time Magazine's Women of the Year in 2022.

10:35 Book review: House of Longing by Tara Calaby 

Gina Rogers reviews House of Longing by Tara Calaby published by Text Publishing

10:45 Around the motu : Tess Brunton in Dunedin

Otago correspondent Tess Brunton discusses another temporary closure of Oamaru Emergency Department, due to doctor shortages. And down in Gore, an $11,000 attempt to patch up relations between mayor Ben Bell and council CEO Stephen Parry. In Cromwell, frustrations over a decision by Waka Kotahi to oppose a proposed residential and business development due to its isolated location.

11:05 Business commentator Victoria Young

Labour has confirmed it will again use the same trio of ad agencies this election, despite a change in leadership, Victoria discusses this with Susie. And an appeal over a case concerning One NZ’s misleading marketing of a home broadband scheme has led to what the Commerce Commission says is the largest fine ever levied by a court under the Fair Trading Act.

BusinessDesk investigations editor, Victoria Young

11:30 Blair McMillan on his debut novel Here Upon the Tide

Two teens. Two tragedies. And an unlikely friendship. Christchurch author Blair McMillan opens his novel with the escalating war in Syria, and the plight of Amir and his family. His surgeon father decides to try to send him and mother away from the violence - and Amir finds himself on a perilous journey - one that puts him on the other side of the planet. His path crosses with Milly, an angry teenager still reeling from the loss of her mother in the Christchurch earthquakes. Blair McMillan runs a swim school with his wife Karen by day - and Here Upon the Tide is his debut novel. He joins Susie to talk about it. 

11:45 Sports-chat with Glen Larmer

New Zealand hosts its last game of the FIFA World Cup tonight, when Sweden play Spain at Eden Park. Glen chats to Susie about how the tournament has played out so far. Also Rugby's NPC model is under review, a motorsports wrap, and the Warriors are just one win away from securing a top four spot in the NRL, after beating the Tigers in Hamilton at the weekend.

Music played in this show

Track: Leaning 
Artist: Dallas Tamaira 
Time played: 11:25am