Nine To Noon for Thursday 20 August 2020

 

 

09:05 Restaurant Association​ calls for targeted Government support

The Restaurant Association is calling for the government to subsidise the cost of meals in restaurants and cafes - similar to the British "Eat out to help out" scheme. The Restaurant Association says 87 per cent of its members in Auckland are reporting significant revenue losses under Level 3, while 49 per cent of those at alert level 2 are experiencing losses. The Association has launched a petition today asking the government to adopt the British scheme as a way of targeting support to the restaurant sector. Association President Mike Egan joins Kathryn to explain why he's seeking such a scheme. 

09:20  Is business support shifting away from government elimination goal?

Auckland Chamber of Commerce CEO Michael Barnett says attempting to eliminate Covid is not sustainable, and support for that approach within the business sector is waning.

09:25 Justified, but unlawful: A ruling on lockdown legality

The High Court has released its ruling into the legality of the first lockdown. Lawyer Andrew Borrowdale had taken the Director General of Health to task, on whether he had the legal authority to put the country into alert level 4 earlier this year. The Court released its ruling yesterday, finding that from 26 March to 3 April, the requirement for people to stay at home and in their bubbles was justified, but unlawful. Dr Dean Knight from Victoria University's faculty of law sat through the three-day hearing.

09:35 Doctors pen warning to Christchurch over DHB

In a rare move, Christchurch hospital senior doctors have published an open letter to share their mounting and deep concerns  at the state of the local health system with the people of Christchurch. They say with no workable budget and the bulk of the senior management team resigning, it's in crisis. Five high-level resignations have taken place in a month. Kathryn talks about the situation with Sarah Dalton, Executive Director of the Associations of Salaried Medical Specialists

09:45 A-level fiasco and a U-turn

UK correspondent Harriet Line joins Kathryn to talk about the government's U-tun on using an algorithm to award A-level and GCSEs in England - but why has there been no repercussions for Education Secretary Gavin Williamson? And the Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced a plan to introduce population-wide testing for Covid-19 so restrictions can be eased, but it's not clear when it might be enacted.

10:05 A couple of Big Bangers: Carrie and Marty Yaxley

Based in Levin, Race Director of the Big Bang Adventure Race Carrie Yaxley and husband Marty tell Kathryn Ryan about the adventure races they put on for teams of people hungry for a challenge. The signature event, the Big Bang Adventure Race, is celebrating its tenth anniversary in November.  Here Big Bangers line up in teams, finding out virtually on the starting line what lies ahead of them (a mixture of running, mountain biking, crawling, scrambling, skidding, probably lots of mud and laughter) for a period of up to nine hours. It's a big day which promises to change people forever.

10:35 Book review - Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Gina Rogers reviews Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, published by Penguin Random House.

This is a brilliant Scandinavian novel with a fantastic cast of quirky characters. A riveting take on a dinner party farce.

10:45 The Reading

Someone's Wife, episode 8. Written and read by Linda Burgess.

11:05 Exam algo bias and fighting back against the boss snooping on you

Technology correspondent Bill Bennett joins Kathryn to talk about how the UK was forced to ditch exam results generated by a biased algorithm after student protests, how workers are fighting back against surveillance software when they're working from home, and Microsoft's new Surface Duo - is it a phone or a tablet? Microsoft calls it neither.

11:25 Feeding children - the first 1,000 days

 Registered dietician, Professor Clare Wall talks to Kathryn about the importance of kai for babies and toddlers, simply put, choosing a chicken dinner over chicken nuggets. Professor Wall leads the nutrition and dietetic department at the University of Auckland's Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences.She's been involved in the Growing up in New Zealand longitudinal study which has followed children from birth to 11 years old. The research has provided a valuable snapshot of what Kiwi kids are consuming - including that 50 percent of nine month olds had eaten junk food. 

 

11:45 Mulan, This Town, The Boys, Shudder.com

Film and TV reviewer Sarah McMullan joins Kathryn to talk about why you'll have to pay $40 if you want to see the New Zealand-filmed Disney+ blockbuster Mulan, New Zealand film This Town, season two of The Boys with Kiwi actors Karl Urban and Anthony Starr and some creepy offerings on new horror channel Shudder.