Nine To Noon for Tuesday 18 August 2020

 

 

09:05 Caution over mortgage extension scheme

A finance commentator is warning the mortgage extension scheme is delaying the inevitable for some people. The Reserve Bank confirmed yesterday it will extend the mortgage deferral scheme by six months, to the end of March next year, in an effort to prevent people experiencing  financial hardship from losing their home.  So far, the retail banks have deferred repayments on 21-billion-dollars worth of loans for over 61-thousand customers.  Kathryn Ryan speaks with David Boyle from Mint Asset Management, formerly with the Commission for Financial Capability, who says borrowers should beware. Also New Zealand Bankers' Association chief excutive Roger Beaumont, who speaks on behalf of the country's banks.

09:20 Covid-19 and its impact on Auckland charities

New figures reveal some Auckland charities are relying on charity to operate because of Covid-19.Trust House's funding application data shows Auckland-based charities need an extra 8 thousand dollars on average to help cover basic overheads. With  funding streams disrupted by the pandemic they're struggling to cover basic operating costs such as power and rent. A  range of community organisations have applied for a grant from the Trusts Your West Support Fund to cover a wide range of expenses. Half a million dollars has been earmarked to support more than 100 West Auckland charities, including hospice, food bank, elderly and youth support services. Also joining Kathryn is Joy Marslin, Executive Chair of Auckland Foundation which is looking for organisations to share in a slice of $470k - the 2020 distributions from its five contestable funding rounds.

09:45 USA correspondent Ron Elving

The Democrats "convene" to nominate Biden-Harris. Donald Trump's blatant stratagem of hobbling Post Office ignites firestorm and chaos over schools persists.

Ron Elving is Senior Editor and Correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News.

10:05 Eat the Buddha: Barbara Demick

Pulitzer prize-nominated writer, former LA Times Beijing bureau chief and foreign correspondent Barbara Demick's new book is Eat the Buddha - Life and Death in a Tibetan Town.  It's a narrative nonfiction account of events that propelled the otherwise unremarkable and obscure Tibetan town of Ngaba to be deserving of the dubious title of "undisputed world-capital of self immolation" in its quest to resist Chinese domination. This is the  history behind the 2008 series of self immolations in the same year as the Beijing Olympics.  Of the 156 self immolations a third would take place in Ngawa. To understand how this tragic history unfolded Barbara sought out many and varied eye-witness acounts, or human portraits, including that of a nomad who became a monk, a schoolgirl and a princess.  Tibet was known for a long time as a Hermit Kingdom. Barbara tells Kathryn Ryan why she is drawn to places closed to the outside world.

10:35 Book review - AUP New Poets 7 by Rhys Feeney, Ria Masae and Claudia Jardine 

Harry Ricketts reviews AUP New Poets 7 by Rhys Feeney, Ria Masae and Claudia Jardine. Edited by Anna Jackson, published by Auckland University Press.

10:45 The Reading

Someone's Wife, episode 6. Written and read by Linda Burgess.

11:05 Business commentator Rebecca Stevenson

Should we be testing for covid before people fly to NZ?. And Rebecca talks to Kathryn about the cost of the revitalisation of NZ racing.

Rebecca Stevenson is BusinessDesk's Auckland bureau chief.

11:30 Barnyard art: Yvonne Sutherland on creating her Happy Hens

For the better part of 30 years, Yvonne Sutherland's shop and studio has been a must-stop on the Otago Peninsula. She's the creator of Happy Hens -  brightly coloured, hand-painted ceramic hens of distinctive shape and assorted sizes. Since opening her Portobello shop in 1990, tens of thousands of visitors from all over the globe passed through her doors. Although the store closed earlier this year, her Happy Hens are still available online.

11:45 Media commentator Andrew Holden

Andrew and Kathryn discuss the covid rumour mill and the role of social media.

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.