Nine To Noon

 

09:05 Draft code of conduct for lobbyists 'watered down and meaningless'

Transparency International says a draft code of conduct for lobbyists has been so watered down from the initial version, it is meaningless. The Ministry of Justice has just closed submissions on the draft code - which would be voluntary.The previous Labour government began a review of the lobbying sector last year, and revoked most lobbyists' swipe card access to parliament. It also instigated the development of a non-binding code of conduct for the industry. Transparency International says any meaningful code should include a proper definition of lobbying, an easily accessible register of lobbyists as well as standards based on the OECD model. But deputy chair Debbie Gee says the draft code shows the industry has sought the lowest possible bar, and the Justice Ministry has effectively been "spun" by the lobbying sector.

09:25 Mangawhai is growing but teens have no local high school

 Educationalist Jill Corkin is leading a community intiative aiming to get a secondary school built in Mangawhai, one of Northland's fastest growing areas. Currently local teenagers need to head out of the town to high schools in Maungaturoto, Wellsford or even further afield to Warkworth. Jill Corkin is hoping to change that. She has been the principal of three schools in the Auckland region and is the founder of the Mangawhai Education Trust. The Trust aims to establish an independent secondary school for the growing population of teenagers who are among the town's 6,000 permanent residents..

09:45 Australia: Bruce Lehmann verdict, Bondi Junction stabbing fallout

Australia correspondent Chris Niesche joins Kathryn to talk about the verdict in the high-profile defamation case brought by Bruce Lehrmann against the Ten media network, over allegations it aired about his rape of a Parliamentary staffer Brittany Higgins. While the network received some criticism, the judge agreed it Lehrmann had indeed raped Ms Higgins, marking a rare win for the media in defamation proceedings. Chris will also talk about the next steps as the country reels from the weekend mass stabbing at Bondi Junction Westfield.

10:05 Splinters: More than a divorce memoir

Author Leslie Jamison has been compared to some of the American greats, Joan Didion and Susan Sontag. A novelist and essasyist, Jamison's writing style blends journalism and memoir. Her previous works The Recovering: Intoxication and its Aftermath, and The Empathy Exams - offer unsparing details about her life - and also launched her onto bestseller lists. Her latest work, Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story, excavates three tumultuous years; new motherhood, a marriage breakdown, and navigating a life as a solo parent. Leslie Jamison is the current director of the graduate nonfiction program at Columbia University and is speaking at the Auckland Writers Festival next month.

10:35 Book review: A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci 

Sally Wenley reviews A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci published by Pan Macmillan

10:45 Around the motu: Tess Brunton in Dunedin

North Otago gold mine OceanaGold has unveiled a fully electric excavator. The race is on to secure a water supply for the Otago town of Lawrence, with only four to six weeks' capacity left due to quality concerns at the Phoenix Dam.  Invercargill mayor Nobby Clark is facing a code of conduct investigation after he repeatedly used a racial slur during a television interview. And the small community of Bluecliffs is exploring options, as erosion eats away at the coastline.

11:05 Music with Dave Wilson: Jukebox Musicals

Music commentator Dave Wilson joins Kathryn from New York, where he's been hitting Broadway. He looks at the rise of musicals based on a collection of existing songs - so called "Jukebox Musicals". They've become one standard model on Broadway, just think of Mamma Mia, based on the music of ABBA, and Jersey Boys, based on the music and story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. But most aren't successful. Dave looks at some examples of jukebox musicals and compares them to the original music they're based on.

Dave Wilson is a saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, and interdisciplinary scholar, a Senior Lecturer in Music at the New Zealand School of Music-Te Kōkī."

11:20 Dunedin history brought to life in a novel centred around Larnach's Castle

Dunedin's history is front and centre of a new book by Karen McMillan. It's a novel about a young woman called Greer, raised in an area of the city known in the late 19th century as the Devil's Half Acre. She goes off to work as a maid at Larnach's Castle after the death of her father and for a time, her story is linked to that of the castle's owner - William Larnach -  and his family. Karen spent time researching her book, Turbulent Threads,  as part of her residency at the Robert Lord Writer's Cottage and the story is stocked with real events, places and people from the city's past.

11:45 Science: Roman wine taste, trees solve solar storm puzzle

Science commentator Dr Allan Blackman joins Kathryn with three new studies. One looked at how Roman wine tasted, challenging the notions that it wasn't great. The greatest solar flare recorded in history hit Earth in 1859, but evidence of it has been elusive - until now. And sticking with bright things, scientists have identified the origin of the BOAT - the brightest cosmic explosion since the Big Bang.

Allan Blackman is a Professor of Chemistry, School of Science, Auckland University of Technology.