18 Sep 2022

The Week in Detail: Pakistan, prime ministers and pepeha

From The Detail, 3:00 pm on 18 September 2022

Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. 

This week, we looked at the devastating effects of climate change in flood-wrecked Pakistan, the controversy surrounding government health and safety watchdog WorkSafe, the dangerous legal territory that true crime podcasts can find themselves in, new British Prime Minister Liz Truss and what she really stands for, and asked what makes up a pepeha, and why?

Whakarongo mai to any episodes you might have missed. 

Pakistan flooding: Bearing the brunt of the climate crisis

Nearly 1500 people have died in the worst floods Pakistan has seen in decades. The associated costs from damage will reach into the tens of billions of dollars.

Pakistani people wade through flood water after flash floods hit the Charsadda district in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan on 28 August, 2022. Pakistan has called for international assistance and help in dealing with the floods that have killed more than 900 people since June.

Pakistani people wade through flood water after flash floods hit the Charsadda district in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. Photo: ZUBAIR ABBASI

And it's likely that these sorts of events will be more common as human-caused climate change continues to intensify natural disasters. 

This raises the stark inequity of which countries will be on the frontlines of climate change: Pakistan, despite its huge population, emits less than one percent of the world's planet-warming gasses.

Emile Donovan speaks to Reuters' Pakistan correspondent Charlotte Greenfield and Pakistan-born New Zealander Tayyaba Khan.

The dangers of working in New Zealand

In the aftermath of the Pike River mine explosion that killed 29 men in 2010, serious failings in New Zealand's health and safety record were revealed.

Worksafe HQ in Wellington Central

Worksafe HQ in Wellington Central Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver

WorkSafe, an agency dedicated to safety was created in 2013 but nine years on our record is still shameful, with two deaths a month on average and a serious injury every day.

"We are overrepresented in terms of health and safety statistics throughout the world. It's depressing," says Chapman Trip partner Garth Gallaway, who has worked in health and safety law since 1994.

Gallaway and RNZ investigative journalist Anusha Bradley talk to Sharon Brettkelly about the role of WorkSafe, the criticism of the way it operates, the worrying drop in the number of investigations and calls for more money.

True crime podcasts - a legal minefield

Gory true crime series are the bread-and-butter of the podcast world - whole production houses have been built on our fascination with the morbid, macabre things humans are capable of doing to one another. 

The art cover for The Teacher's Pet podcast. A black and white image of Lynette Dawson on her wedding day is tinged red with blood spatters across it. The image is stylised so that the photo has the middle strip of the photo, of her nose and mouth, ripped out. Across the ripped section, there is a black background and the title, THE TEACHER'S PET, is written in white font.

The Teacher's Pet podcast. Photo: The Australian

But a recent true crime podcast out of Australia has actually gone on to have substantial real-world effects, with an arrest and then a murder conviction for a forty year-old cold case seemingly spurred on by the podcast's investigation.

But there are serious potential legal liabilities to publishing a podcast of this nature, and a huge amount of work that goes on in the background from journalists and media organisations to make sure they're protected from risks like defamation claims and breaches of sensitive court orders.

Emile Donovan speaks to media lawyer Ali Romanos and RNZ's head of podcasts Tim Watkin.

Who is British PM Liz Truss?

Newly-elected Liz Truss has got no further than announcing a two-year freeze on people's energy bills that will cost £150 billion, before having to shift her focus to leading a country grieving over the death of its monarch.

Liz Truss delivers her first speech as British Prime Minister outside 10 Downing Street in London, 6 September 2022.

Photo: AFP / Anadolu Agency

But the problems are not going away. Besides inheriting a political and constitutional crisis, she's got an inflation crisis, a war going on in eastern Europe, and a wave of industrial action by disgruntled workers from several sectors. 

What can we expect from Truss, a self-styled Thatcherite and former monarchy abolitionist?

Sharon Brettkelly speaks to Today FM drivetime host and former Newshub Europe correspondent Lloyd Burr and political theory expert David Jenkins.

The anatomy of a pepeha

Have you ever said a pepeha?

Speaking from experience as a Pākehā man who hasn't really engaged much with te ao Māori in my life, it can be a bit nerve-wracking. 

Pepeha are commonly used by Māori to explain their iwi connections. Geneology

 Pepeha are used to explain where you come from and your connections. Photo: Designworks

You want to engage, it's exciting and you're learning things - but you don't want to say the wrong thing. You don't want to be disrespectful. You don't want to embarrass yourself. 

Emile Donovan speaks to te reo Māori advocate and teacher Stacey Morrison about this unique expression of identity through tikanga Māori.

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