Nine To Noon for Wednesday 9 August 2017

 

09:05 16 tertiary institutes under fraud spotlight

Immigration New Zealand believes some tertiary institution staff may have been involved in fraud and corruption and is keeping tabs on staff at 16 institutions. The alleged offending includes bribery and faking students' results and attendance records. Nine to Noon speaks with Christine Clark, chair of Independent Tertiary Education NZ, who says the problem is getting worse.

09:20 Former PM 'concerned' over departure of Auditor-General

Former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer is concerned the parliamentary select committee tasked with investigating the former Auditor-General Martin Matthews failed to go through the constitutional process. Mr Matthews fell on his sword last week after a parliamentary inquiry found it was untenable for him to stay in role – following his handling of a major fraud case when he led the Transport Ministry. The report by the retired public servant Sir Maarten Wevers criticised Mr Matthews' performance as chief executive of the Ministry of Transport while major fraud was being committed there. But hours before it was due to be made public, a parliamentary committee unanimously agreed the report should not be published.

Lynn Freeman speaks with former prime minister and constitutional law expert Sir Geoffrey Palmer.

0925 Could gut bacteria help obese teens lose weight?

Paediatric endocrinologist Wayne Cutfield on the weight loss trial involving gut bugs from lean young people to help obese teenagers lose weight. He is leading a team of researchers at the University of Auckland's Liggins Institute focussing on whether introducing a range of diverse bacteria to an overweight person's system may result in them being able to better metabolise food, and lead to weight loss and health benefits.

For more information about the study, or to join it, email gutbugs@auckland.ac.nz.

09:45 UK correspondent Kate Adie

Kate Adie reports on the endless stories about Brexit, the controversial TV coverage about Princess Diana and whether trouble at the National Trust is a mere storm in a teacup?

Rather than her regular cross from London, Kate joins us in person, as she's in New Zealand for the NZIFF screening of 6 Days.

10:05 Rosita Worl: Alaskan indigenous activist

Dr Rosita Worl has spent a lifetime advocating for the well-being of the indigenous people of Alaska. She's Tlingit, from South East Alaska. She tells Lynn Freeman her remarkable story, from being taken from her family by welfare authorities aged six, to gaining a PhD in anthropology from Harvard, and decades of work on behalf of her people.

10:35 Book review

Phil Vine reviews "A Stranger in the House" by Shari Lapena.

10:45 The Reading

11:05 Music of Randy Newman with Graeme Downes

Graeme Downes, founding member of the Verlaines, songwriter, musicologist, senior lecturer in the Department of Music at the University of Otago, discusses Randy Newman's twelfth studio album "Dark Matter".

11:20 Daniela Papi Thornton

Daniela Papi Thornton talks to Lynn Freeman about why she thinks social entrepreneurship may have lost its way. Once a force for bringing about system change she says social entrepreneurship is often just a more soft and cuddly way of doing business. Daniela argues we don't need more social businesses, we need more social change.

11:45 Science commentator Siouxsie Wiles

After a 25-year wait, the first genetically-engineered salmon have been sold to consumers in Canada. Is it harder to create 'designer' babies as previously thought? Trees in the Amazon make their own rain. And scientists move one step closer to determining not only why some people have allergies, but also how to block them.