Nine To Noon for Thursday 20 May 2021

 

 

09:05 A 'truancy crisis': 60,000 students chronically absent 

Ministry of Education figures show more than 60,000 students are classified as chronically absent, missing at least three days of school every fortnight. Almost 40 per cent of pupils are not going to school regularly. The National Party's Education spokesperson Paul Goldsmith is calling the situation "a truancy crisis".  But the service providers contracted by the Ministry of Education to help return children to school are underfunded, with the $9.7m allocated annually only reaching 20,000 students. The government has announced it will review the service, with the aim to have a new model in place by the start of 2022. Kathryn speaks with the principal of John Paul College in Rotorua Patrick Walsh, the principal of Porirua College Ragne Maxwell and Solomon Ah-Young, an attendance officer in South Auckland. 

 

09:25 Cyber expert warned Health Ministry about IT vulnerability

Jeremy Jones is a former cyber warfare operations officer at the UK Ministry of Defence and is now the head of data security for the digital technology company, Theta, based in Auckland. He says he sounded a warning about IT vulnerabilities at meetings with Ministry of Health officials 18 months ago. Mr Jones believes confidential Waikato DHB patient information has already been stolen and encrypted by hackers responsible for a cyber attack on five hospitals in the region. The major ransomware attack has knocked out the hospitals IT systems and put the entire public health system on high alert. He says New Zealand's health information infrastructure is creaky and old and almost impossible to keep secure. 
 

09:45 Indian variant could dash UK hopes for lockdown escape

10:05 Marina Wheeler: uncovering her Indian heritage

Marina Wheeler is a London based barrister and QC, the former wife of the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose new memoir explores her Indian heritage. The Lost Homestead tells the story of her mother, Dip, the end of British rule in India and its partition into India and Pakistan. Dip's family fled their home in Punjab during the chaos and violence of partition, and moved to Delhi, where she later met Marina's father Charles Wheeler, who was the BBC's correspondent based there. The book has been a journey of discovery for Marina Wheeler, who says her knowledge of her Indian roots was sketchy because her mother never talked about her past life, only opening up after her husband's death.

10:35 Book review: Mrs Death Misses Death by Selina Godden

Bronwyn Wylie-Gibb of University Book Shop Dunedin reviews Mrs Death Misses Death by Selina Godden, published by Canongate

10:45 The Reading

Five of the Family, part four. Written by David Hill, read by Alison Quigan.

11:05 Cyber-security expert Tony Grasso on the Waikato DHB attack

Tony joins Kathryn to talk about the latest developments from the cyber attack on the Waikato DHB.

11:25 Helping new dads to be great parents

Kathryn checks in on a parenting programme pilot in Nelson set up to help new fathers. The free 10 week course is available to all new dads, step dads and also includes men awaiting the birth of their first child. It is part of a Ministry of Social Development Whānau Resilience programme and is run by family violence specialists SVS - Living Safe in partnership with Perinatal Support Nelson. Aaron Agnew is the course facilitator.
 

11:45 Film and Television with Tamar Munch

Film and TV reviewer Tamar Munch joins Kathryn to look at 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything (Apple TV+), an eight-episode documentary series that uses archival footage to examine the music and politics of the year. She'll also look at upcoming documentary called Heaven & Hell - The Centrepoint Story (TVNZ1) that sees former members and children of the commune tell their stories for the first time, and finally The Circus (Bravo) which looks at the longest-running Kiwi circus, Weber Circus.

Music played in this show

Artist: Samuel Flynn Scott
Track: Llewellyn
Time played: 10:35

Artist: Ladyhawke
Track: Girl Like Me
Time played: 10:45

Artist: The Avalanches (feat. Kurt Vile)
Track: Gold Sky    
Time played: 11:45