Sunday Morning for Sunday 14 October 2012
8:12 Insight: Biosecurity Protection
Insight delves into the essential business of protecting New Zealand from biosecurity threats. Biosecurity incursions have the potential to devastate the country's primary industries, whose products make up 70 percent of exports. The recent PSA-V disease, which is rampant in kiwifruit orchards, could cost the industry a billion dollars or more and it is a classic example of just what can go wrong if pests or diseases get in. Andrew McRae talks to those charged with biosecurity protection and the farmers and orchardists who rely on it for their livelihood.
Produced by Philippa Tolley.
8:40 Pamela Stephenson – Shrinking Herself
Pamela Stephenson – comedian, wife of Billy Connolly, writer and psychologist has put herself in the therapist’s chair to write the story of her life. She talks to Chris about a difficult childhood, working among the men on ‘Not The Nine O’clock News’, life with Billy, a striking career change, and growing old in a sequined mini-skirt.
The Varnished Untruth, by Pamela Stephenson, is published by Penguin.
9:06 Mediawatch
Experts have studied the effects of crime, conflict and catastrophe on victims – and on the soldiers, paramedics and police officers who also endure them. But the impact on journalists is only now being fully explored. Mediawatch reports from the first ever gathering devoted to the impact of trauma on New Zealand journalists – and we also hear reporters react to the common complaint that they’re only really motivated by securing sensational scoops.
Produced and presented by Colin Peacock and Jeremy Rose.
9.40 Pavel Castka – Supermarket Green-Wash
Pavel Castka says there are so many product labels making all kinds of eco-friendly claims that it’s almost impossible to know which ones to trust – and what does “all natural” mean, anyway? Dr Castka has also been studying global eco-labelling schemes such as Fairtrade, and he talks to Chris about his concerns about the ‘green-washing’ of supermarket shelf items.
Associate Professor Pavel Castka is the University of Canterbury College of Business and Economics research director.
10:06 Ideas: Trevor Grice
Trevor Grice, the founder of the Life Education Trust tells Chris Laidlaw about the people, thinkers and events that have shaped his life. From a malnourished childhood and struggles with alcoholism to visiting both the South and North Poles and the setting up of the Life Education Trust – it’s been an incredible journey.
Produced by Jeremy Rose.
10.55 Today’s Track – Reggae Music
Today we feature reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, who’s performing at Womad in Taranaki next year. Jimmy Cliff is best known for the 1972 album The Harder They Come, a soundtrack to the film of the same name. The album's biggest hits, You Can Get It If You Really Want and Many Rivers to Cross, are often credited with popularising reggae around the world. Today we’re playing a track from the album Rebirth, Jimmy Cliff's equivalent of Johnny Cash’s American Recordings or Tom Jones’ Praise & Blame, where a veteran artist relights the fire with the help of a kindred spirit producer. For Cash and Jones, it was Rick Rubin and Ethan Johns respectively, while for Jimmy Cliff it’s Rancid frontman and Clash devotee Tim Armstrong.
Jimmy Cliff, Reggae Music, from Rebirth. (Universal Music)
11.05 Down the List
Where does the real power in New Zealand lie? That’s right, with a bunch of bureaucrats, underlings, officials, and lowly-ranked list MPs that you and I have never heard of. Whether it’s in sport, politics, commerce, education or the arts, the only way to find out what’s really going on in this country is by going ... Down the List. Written by Dave Armstrong and produced by Radio New Zealand’s Drama department. Today, two Hollywood film moguls preparing for a quick meeting with Jeff Key (John Key) discuss making a film in New Zealand based on Richie McCaw’s sore foot. They struggle to make it sound exciting enough to invest in, but finally they are swayed by the concessions and subsidies being offered to overseas film productions.
11.12 Richard Broinowski – Fallout in Japan
Former Australian diplomat Richard Broinowski traveled to Japan after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami which killed thousands of people and caused explosions and meltdowns at a nuclear plant near the city of Fukushima. He talks to Chris about the consequences of the country’s worst nuclear disaster, how the Japanese authorities are handling the crisis, the threat that remains, and the response from other nuclear nations.
Fallout from Fukushima, by Richard Broinowski, is published by Scribe.
11.40 Wayne Brittenden’s Counterpoint: Auckland Heritage
Wayne Brittenden has been Radio New Zealand’s correspondent in several capital cities over the years. Each week he gives fresh insights into a wide variety of topics of national and international concern, followed by Chris Laidlaw’s discussion of the issue with guests. Today, In the light of Auckland’s Heritage Festival which concludes today, Wayne takes a critical look at the reality of heritage, Auckland style. Chris subsequently speaks with Waitemata and Gulf councillor Mike Lee, and Brisbane conservation architect Peter Marquis-Kyle.