Nine To Noon for Tuesday 10 March 2020

 

 

09:05 Sharemarkets dive, oil price war, businesses worry

Fears over Covid-19 and a huge plunge in oil prices due to oversupply have hit global sharemarkets with billions of  wiped from the market value of companies around the world. Overnight European stocks fell 6 percent and a few hours ago the New York Stock Exchange opened with a 7% fall on the Dow-Jones Average. - triggering an almost-immediate trading halt. The government has moved to assist businesses worst impacted by COVID 19, outlining the beginnings of a package which will include a targeted wage subsidy scheme. Yesterday the Finance Minister met with the major bank CEOs to discuss what they were doing to support their business and personal customers. Kathryn talks with the chief executive of Business NZ Kirk Hope and Westpac Senior economist Michael Gordon.

09:25 Supporting whanau to get ahead: Helen Leahy

Kathryn meets the Chief Executive of the South Island Whanau Ora Commissioning agency, Te Putahitanga, Helen Leahy. She leads a team of 57 'navigators' all over the South Island - working with around three thousand families a year. The support they provide varies from capital to get a business up and running, to helping young people get their drivers licenses to supporting families through alcohol and drug counselling.

09:45 Trump's handling of coronavirus criticism, Biden up in the polls

USA correspondent Susan Davis looks at the response to Covid-19 in the US and whether Congress may have to pass an economic stimulus package as President Trump is criticised for his handling of the outbreak so far. She'll also talk to Kathryn about the latest polls which give Joe Biden a big lead over Bernie Sanders as the Democrats head into their next round of primaries on Wednesday.

Susan Davis is a congressional correspondent for NPR and a co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast.

10:05 Open borders. What if immigration were unlimited?

In 'Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration', libertarian economist Bryan Caplan & illustrator Zach Weinersmith make the economic case for unlimited immigration. The graphic non fiction book argues it is affordable and even increases global wealth, expressed in terms of gross world product. That's because government regulation and restriction on immigration has an enormous dead weight cost. So what would such a regime look like and why is the case for open borders stronger than the prioritization of high-skill immigrants? Bryan Caplan is a professor of economics at George Mason University and a regular blogger at EconLog. He's also the author of three previous books: 'The Case Against Education', 'Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids', and 'The Myth of the Rational Voter'.

10:35 Book review - Landfall 238 Journal

Harry Ricketts reviews Landfall 238 Journal, Spring 2019, which is published by Otago University Press.

10:45 The Reading

New writing by some of the graduate writers at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University in Wellington.
Rumbo by Rebecca Reilly told by Simon Leary
Unlimited web

11:05 Beehive's coronavirus business package, and Air NZ CEO pay cut

Business commentator Fran O'Sullivan joins Kathryn to talk about whether the Beehive's economic measures to ease the coronavirus effects on business go far enough as New Zealand slides towards recession. She'll also look at the decision by new Air New Zealand boss Greg Foran to take a pay cut  - should other corporate leaders follow suit?

Fran O'Sullivan is the Head of Business at NZME.

11:30 Iconic waiata to open Auckland Arts Festival 

Aotea Square will be filled with song when the Auckland Arts Festival opens tomorrow evening with the free event Tira. It is a gathering of choirs from around the city, singer Hollie Smith and Hātea Kapa Haka singing iconic waiata. Musical directors Steven Rapana and Kate Bell talk about what's gone on behind the scenes.

 

11:45 RNZ ad spat, Gold Quill to famous photo and mosque attack anniversary challenge

Media commentator Andrew Holden looks at how the coverage of women's sport has changed, as a famous photo becomes the first ever to win a Gold Quill at the Melbourne Press Club's annual awards. He'll also look at the challenging week ahead for the media in covering the first anniversary of the Christchurch mosque shootings and touches on the media spat over RNZ's advertising.

Andrew Holden is a journalist for more than 30 years including five as Editor of The Press (in Christchurch) and four as Editor-in-Chief of The Age in Melbourne.