Nine To Noon for Tuesday 15 June 2021
09:05 Former Skypath design lead proposes new harbour bridge design
Photo: Supplied
The former design lead for the abandoned SkyPath planned for the Auckland Harbour Bridge says the Waitemata needs a new crossing - but not the boxy expensive one the government wants. Earlier this month Transport Minister Michael Wood announced plans to construct a new cycling and walking bridge that would sit alongside the original bridge - at an estimated cost of $685m. Construction is expected to take place over five years, starting in mid -2022. It's the latest iteration of cycling and walking options over the Waitemata Harbour - the original was the Skypath plan, which had consent, $360 million in funding and was supposed to be under construction this year. Its design team leader was Garth Falconer, director of Reset Urban Design. He's throwing a new option into the mix: a new bridge that curves out on the western side of the existing Harbour Bridge that would be for north-bound traffic, while south-bound traffic would use the original bridge, with two lanes left for exclusive use by cyclists and pedestrians.
Photo: Supplied
09:20 'Some were horrible' : New research into mental health units
Photo: 123RF
Dr Gabrielle Jenkin is the Director of the Suicide and Mental Health Research Group at Otago University, Wellington. For the past four years she has been conducting in depth research into four acute adult psychiatric wards around the country, interviewing service users, family members and staff and looking at the actual physical environments and design of the facilities. Dr Jenkin says some of what she saw was shocking. Last week the Ombudsman released reports into three in-patient mental health units its inspectors visited last year which found two were not fit for purpose with one in Hutt Valley requiring urgent refurbishment. The reports detailed soiled carpets and walls covered in graffiti, too few toilets, and a lack of space for group activities and dining.
09:45 USA correspondent Susan Davis
Photo: 2021 Getty Images/AFP
Susan talks to Kathryn about Joe Biden's first trip aboard as US President, and what will be on the table for his meeting later this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Susan Davis is a congressional correspondent for NPR and a co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast.
10:05 Sebastian Junger on what it means to be free
American journalist Sebastian Junger's latest book ruminates on the concept of freedom and what it means to be free in a modern society. He had ample opportunity to do it during his 600-kilometre hike along railroad lines on America's east coast. His new book is simply entitled Freedom, about the journey he undertook in stages with various companions. Sebastian is the author of The Perfect Storm, Fire, Tribe and co-director of Restrepo, a film about his experiences during the Afghan war - and of the unit he was embedded with - that won best documentary at the Sundance Film Festival and an Academy Award nomination.
Photo: Supplied
10:35 Book review: At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop
Photo: Pushkin
Kiran Dass reviews the 2021 International Booker Prize winner At Night All Blood is Black, written by David Diop, published by Pushkin
10:45 The Reading
Claim to Fame, by David Hill. Read by Judith Gibson and Nathaniel Lees.
11:05 Business commentator Rod Oram
Rod discusses key themes in the Climate Change Commission's final recommendations to Government and what will happen next.
Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
11:30 A life of poetry - Harry Ricketts
Harry Ricketts is a poet, editor, biographer and has taught English literature and creative writing at Victoria University in Wellington. During his career he has published more than thirty books. His latest is - The selected poems of Harry Ricketts.
Harry Ricketts Photo: Victoria University
11:45 Media commentator Andrew Holden
In a week when an English Test cricketer is stood down because of social media posts he made as a teenager, and others are frantically checking their own histories, ABC journalists in Australia have been the subject of a barrage of questions in Federal Parliament about their social media posts. Andrew explores where the line should be.
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.