Nine To Noon for Tuesday 3 September 2019

 

 

09:05 Private early childhood centres want more government funding

A new lobby group for privately owned early childhood centres wants more money from the government to pay teachers better and achieve pay parity with kindergarten, primary and secondary school teachers. The newly formed group 'Advocates for Early Learning Excellence' says it represents nearly one quarter of the ECE sector. Currently all providers - whether for profit or not - are funded to provide 20 hours free early childhood education, and at least half of their staff must be qualified ECE teachers. Spokeperson for the new group Michelle Pratt, owner the New Shoots Early Childhood Centres in Auckland and the Bay of Plenty, says it is hard to find qualified staff and low decile areas in particular are suffering under the current funding system. She talks with Lynn Freeman, along with Chief Executive of NZ Kindergartens, Jill Bond.

09:20 YouTube stars sue the platform for discrimination

Eight gay content creators in the US are suing YouTube for what they say amounts to discrimination. Their suit says YouTube, which is owned by Google, regularly labels the content they produce as offensive or sexually explicit because of their sexuality, demonetizes the videos and restricts who can see it. Two of those represented in the lawsuit are Bria Kam and Chrissy Chambers, a married duo who have been producing videos for their YouTube channel Bria and Chrissy for nearly 7 years. They'll tell Lynn about why they've joined the suit.

09.35 Keeping kea entertained on the ski slopes

The team at the Treble Cone ski field have come up with a playful idea to allow skiers to enjoy the slopes without pesky interventions from the light-fingered mountain parrot, the kea.  Treble Cone brand manager Richard Birkby is helping build a kea playground this week. He tells Lynn Freeman why it's needed and how members of the local community were involved in its making.

09:45 USA correspondent David Smith - Boat fatalities, Hurricane Dorian & RBG

Washington bureau chief of The Guardian David Smith with the latest on the Santa Crus Island boat fire's multiple fatalities. Also Hurricane Dorian's path from devastating the Bahamas, to Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina declaring states of emergency. Locals are boarding up shops and buying up emergency supplies. And, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has given an upbeat assessment of her health after undergoing cancer treatment earlier this month, saying "I am on my way to being very well." 

10:05 Linda Burgess: Someone's Wife

Linda Burgess is the award winning author of three novels, three non-fiction titles and one collection of short stories.
But for many years, Linda was simply known as an All Black wife. Married to ex topflight player Robert - Bob Burgess - she says these days she'd be called a WAG. She's just published a memoir called Someone's Wife which is a collection of very personal essays exploring her childhood, marriage, life as an All Black wife, and a poignant and strikingly honest reflection on the death of her first born, Toby. Linda talks with Lynn Freeman.

10:35 Book review - Native Son by Witi Ihimaera

Rae McGregor reviews Native Son by Witi Ihimaera, which is published by Penguin Random House.

10:45 The Reading

Purple Heart by Ta'afuli Andrew Fiu read by Eteuati Ete. (Part 2 of 5)

11:05 Business commentator Nikki Mandow

Nikki takes a look at the role of corporates have with shareholders and stakeholders,  large global fund managers and their causes, and TVNZ's annual result and what it spells for the state-owned broadcaster's future.

Nikki Mandow is Senior Auckland reporter at BusinessDesk, and also contributor to the Two Cents' Worth business podcast with Newsroom and Radio NZ.

11:30 Dylan Jones - The Wichita Lineman, a legacy

Dylan Jones has been captivated and inspired by the song, The Wichita Lineman for decades and now he's devoted a whole book to it -  The Wichita Lineman - searching in the sun for the world's greatest unfinished song.  The song was written by Jimmy Webb - and its most famous version sung by the late Glen Campbell. Dylan Jones is the editor of GQ magazine and he's a best selling author of biographies of  Jim Morrison and David Bowie. In The Wichita Lineman  Dylan Jones looks at the legacy of the song - about the Kansas lineman working in solitude.
 

11:45 Media commentator Gavin Ellis

Gavin talks to Lynn about whether advocacy groups have a right to use advertising to push their message but asks do they have a right to cause alarm?. And next week will see an unprecedented focus on climate change in NZ media in the lead-up to a summit meeting in New York.

Gavin Ellis is a media commentator and former editor of the New Zealand Herald.  He can be contacted on gavin.ellis@xtra.co.nz