Nine To Noon for Friday 20 March 2020

 

 

09:05 Government loans $900 m to Air NZ

The government is moving to shore-up Air New Zealand with a loan of $900 million. The air line will be able to call on the loan if its cash reserves fall below certain levels over the next two years.The government will have the ability to turn the loan into shares in the airline. The company is also cancelling an 11 cents a share worth 123 million dollars.Kathryn speaks with aviation commentator Irene King. 

09:15 No guarantee New Zealanders overseas will make it home 

New Zealand's borders are now closed for the first time in its history. From midnight last night, no one except citizens, permanent residents, their children, guardians and partners are allowed in. The Prime Minister took the unprecedented step yesterday saying it is necessary to protect New Zealand from people coming here from countries experiencing major outbreaks of Covid-19. Airlines around the world are in turmoil, cutting services, and laying off staff, making it even more complicated and stressful for travelers scrambling to make it home. Auckland woman Jo Cummings has just been turned was away from Heathrow check-in and firmly told New Zealand has closed its border. She describes chaotic airport scenes.

09:30 Hospitality industry feels the bite of Covid-19

The hospitality industry is braced to take a massive hit from the disruption caused by Covid-19, with an estimated $10 million dollars being lost each week as it drags on. The Restaurant Association says 200 member restaurants are on the brink of having to shut up shop for good. A ban on gatherings spelled the end of the Auckland Night Market, which announced this week it would close temporarily. Kathryn talks to founder Paul De Jonge and Marisa Bidois, CEO of the Restaurant Association.

09:45 Health Minister on 'new normal' of Covid-19

The Health Minister David Clark says the public health system is readying itself  to move quickly if there's a community outbreak of Covid-19 - but we're not there yet. Testing capability is also being rapidly scaled up, and health workers are on high alert to monitor for any signs of community transmission, ready  to take more stringent measures if necessary. Meanwhile the Health Ministry strategy has changed slightly from trying to flatten the curve to managing a series of smaller peaks of outbreaks.It follows new research from Britain's Imperial College of Medicine that showed mitigation efforts that simply soften the peak of the pandemic would still overwhelm the health system. He talks to Kathryn Ryan.

10:05 Finance Minister briefs media on Air NZ $900 million loan

RNZ political reporter Jo Moir reports from the Beehive where Grant Robertson explained that the intervention was essential to ensure the airline can remain viable.

10:15 Asia correspondent Ed White

Asian countries, including China, are bracing for a second wave of infections with  hundreds of thousands of people flocking home as the global pandemic hits the US and Europe.

10:20 From nurse to mental health watchdog: Hayden Wano

Hayden Wano is the chair of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission - established last year as part of the government's response to the comprehensive mental health inquiry. The inquiry recommended sweeping changes, including a suicide reduction target, boosting access to publicly-funded mental health and addiction services for people with mild to moderate needs and broadening the types of services available. 40 recomendations were made and 38 adopted by the government - including the establishment of the watchdog commisson. Hayden Wano began his career as a nurse working in the obstetric and psychiatric fields, in time becoming Taranaki's first psychiatric district nurse. More recently he has been  Chief Executive of the largest health and social service provider in Taranaki Tui Ora. He talks with Kathryn about the challenges of improving the country's mental health and wellbeing.

The Mental Health Foundation has developed a new online resource Looking after mental health and wellbeing during Covid-19.

10:35 Book review - To the Lake by Kapka Kassabova

Tilly Lloyd of Unity Books, Wellington, reviews To the Lake: A Balkan Journey of War and Peace by Kapka Kassabova. This book is published by Granta.

From the celebrated author of Border comes a portrait of an ancient but little-understood corner of the Balkans. Kassabova uncovers the human history shaped by a vast lake region in the southern Balkans, through the stories of poets, fishermen, caretakers, misfits, rulers, and inheritors of war and exile - and sets out to resolve her own ancestral legacy.  

10:45 The Reading

Snapper in a Landscape  written and read by Declan O’Neill:  Episode five.

11:05 Unis begin to suspend face to face classes

The University of Auckland is suspending classes next week as it prepares for a possible campus closure. 
Staff and students have been told there will be no classes next week and scheduled tests have been postponed. Meanwhile Massey University is moving all its classes online. Universities New Zealand Chief Executive Chris Wheelan explains.

11:15 New music with Jeremy Taylor

Jeremy plays new sounds from former Belle & Sebastian-er Isobel Campbell, Greg Dulli gets happy (kind of), and a quiet gem from Gia Margaret's two year-old debut.

11:30 Sports commentator Sam Ackerman

Is COVID-19 the death knell for some sports and should sporting codes get financial help from the government?

11:45 The week that was with Irene Pink and James Elliot

Why it's now more important than ever to have a sense of humour.