Nine To Noon for Monday 20 May 2019

 

 

09:05 Earthquake damage insurance: Dr Megan Woods

Does earthquake insurance need a fundamental rethink as private insurers trim their books and EQC gets out of contents insurance?  Kathryn Ryan speaks with the minister responsible for the Earthquake Commission, Dr Megan Woods.  Changes to the Earthquake Commission Act come into affect on July 1st. They include an increase in the  cap on EQC residential building cover from $100,000 to 150,000, a withdrawal of contents cover, and more transparency if earthquake claims have been made on a house in the past.

09:30 Selling the family home when couples break-up

Court ordered sales of houses in divorce cases appear to be on the rise as the cost of breaking up, takes a financial toll on separating couples. Auckland family lawyer, Jeremy Sutton has noticed an increasing number of applications to sell properties before the Family Court and the High Court. He says in situations where there is a large mortgage on a family home, it is not always viable for one partner to buy another out.

09:45 Rising US-Iran tensions - 'pushing towards war'

Middle East correspondent Sebastian Usher talks to Kathryn about deteriorating US-Iran relations, with the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif saying people around Donald Trump are "pushing him towards war". Also a look at the war in Yemen, and the Netherlands wins the Eurovision Song Contest.

10:05 How to think like a plant

A window into the world of plant decision-making, without the benefit of a brain. British plant developmental biologist Dame Ottoline Leyser talks to Kathryn about her research which uses the hormonal control of shoot branching to investigate plant decision-making mechanisms. She says we face huge problems in the face of feeding a growing world population and amid  increasing environmental challenges meaning that GM and genome editing techniques must be part of the solution. 

10:35 Book review - Cari Mora by Thomas Harris

Quentin Johnson reviews Cari Mora by Thomas Harris, which is published by Penguin Random House. Full of dry, cynical humour and set in Florida, this is Harris' sixth book. Four of his earlier books feature Hannibal Lecter.

10:45 The Reading

 Lisa's Story  (from All this by Chance) by Vincent O'Sullivan read by Peter Hambleton. Part 6 of 10.

11:05 Political commentators Mills & Sherson

Stephen Mills and Trish Sherson dissect the Australian election result and also a look at what's happening on the NZ political front, including talk of an Alfred Ngaro led Christian Party.

Stephen Mills is the executive director of UMR Research and former political adviser to two Labour governments. Trish Sherson is from corporate affairs firm Sherson Willis, and a former ACT press secretary.

11:30 Tot's Pantry: Taking the fuss out of feeding time

Anyone who's tried to feed a fussy toddler knows what a challenge it can be. Catherine Henderson is behind an Auckland start-up, Tot's Pantry, that aims to provide healthy - and tasty - meals for tots. She shares a couple of recipes for time-deficient parents of picky young eaters.

11:45 Petrels & Icelandic woman at war

Outdoor adventurer Kennedy Warne talks to Kathryn about a night out with the petrelheads, being an evening in the Auckland suburb of Cornwallis, banding grey-faced petrels, and the excellent 2019 breeding season of the threatened black petrels of Great Barrier.  Also he has been watching the movie, "Woman at War", about the Icelandic actress who plays an eco-activist in the film.