Nine To Noon for Monday 31 August 2020

 

09:05 WOFs: don't wait - concerns for vehicle safety

The Motor Trade Association says the number of cars on the road with expired warrants is "of huge concern".  MTA members are anticipating a bottleneck, with drivers whose warrants expired during the first lockdown delaying until the looming October 10th deadline to make sure their cars are road-worthy.  Figures from NZTA show the average WoF failure rate is 41%.  Nationwide warrants were down 83% in April, with more than half a million fewer vehicle inspections completed during the lockdown period than usual.  Since then, there's been a five week wait for warrants in some parts of the South Island. Kathryn Ryan speaks with MTA Repair Sector Manager Graeme Swan, Paul Brimblecombe, owner of Station Tyre and Service at Waikanae and Ross Birchall who is owner of Birchall Maunder Automotive in Rotorua.

09:20 KiwiSaver fund managers 'nervous' 'frustrated' after cyber-attack

After four days of cyber-attacks and trading halts on the NZX, KiwiSaver fund managers say they are frustrated, embarrassed and nervous. Last week the stock exchange was hit by a series of sophisticated denial-of-service style attacks from overseas, sparking an investigation by the Government's GCSB communications security bureau. The attacks meant fund managers could not buy and sell shares on the open market, and hampered their ability to calculate savers' balances. Sam Stubbs is the chief executive of Simplicity.

09:30 Cybersickness - what is it, who is affected?

Cybersickness is a catch all term for illness caused by using a computer display. It is often associated with affecting gamers or people who are high users of virtual reality (VR) technology, but the illness is also affecting people across a range of industries and workplaces. A team of  Sydney researchers is trying to understand what causes it and how     to treat it. Dr Juno Kim from the University of New South Wales School of Optometry and Vision Science says cybersickness manifests as nausea and dizziness, similar to being seasick or carsick.

09:45 Protesters defy regime in Belarus, 300 arrested in German anti-Covid protest

Europe correspondent Seamus Kearney joins Kathryn to look at what's happening on the streets of Belarus, where tens of thousands defied threats of a crackdown to call for the resignation of Alexander Lukashenko. 38,000 took to the streets in Berlin yesterday to protest against Covid restrictions, resulting in the arrest of 300. And a migrant rescue boat funded by UK street artist Banksy needed rescuing itself after it became overloaded with migrants.

10:05 Creative couple combine crochet & sculpture

The creative endeavours of artistic south Auckland couple, sculptor Rudi Robinson and designer artist Lissy Robinson Cole  include exploring crochet through a Te Ao Māori lens. They incorporate sculpture and yarn work to create large scale three-dimensional art installations.
 

10:35 Book review - The Gates of Athens by Conn Iggulden

David Hill reviews The Gates of Athens by Conn Iggulden, published by Penguin Random House. 

10:45 The Reading

Susy Pointon's Hard Up (New Zealand) Limited, told by Aaron Alexander. Episode 1 of 10.

11:05 Political commentators Mills and Sherson

Stephen, Trish and Kathryn discuss the focus of the election campaign, with pandemic management and the economic consequences at the forefront. Also how do you safely campaign in level 2?

Stephen Mills is the executive director of UMR Research , which is the polling firm used by Labour.  He is former political adviser to two Labour governments.

Trish Sherson is from corporate affairs firm Sherson Willis, and a former ACT press secretary. 

 

11:30 C'est Cheese: Organic cheesemaking in Featherston 

Cheesemaker Paul Broughton talks to Kathryn about how his hobby became his life, running a cheese factory and cafe in Featherston. Paul is the owner of Ces't Cheese, and the Remutaka Pass Creamery, and has some cheese-making tips.  

 

11:45 Off the beaten marine track with Kennedy Warne

Kennedy discusses his latest story for National Geographic about the vision of the Pristine Seas project, and describes a visit to one of the Philippines' first marine sanctuaries, at Apo Island.

 

Music played in this show

Track: Bad, bad, news 
Artist: Leon Bridges 
Time: 10.45