Nine To Noon for Tuesday 5 October 2021

 

 

09:05 Afghans hope for action while awaiting court hearing

Afghans with connections to New Zealand are pinning their hopes on a government change of heart as they wait for a judicial review into their case next month.  In August, Community Law Waikato launched legal proceedings for 70 clients, all of whom have family in New Zealand and are in danger because they, or someone close to them, helped the New Zealand Defence Force, or they are single women at risk. But there are grave fears for the group as they wait for their November court date; one of the 70 has been killed - it is believed by the Taliban - while trying to flee the country, there are fears for the whereabouts of two others in the group, and those who have remained in Afghanistan are receiving targeted home visits from the Taliban. Community Law is taking court action against the Minister of Immigration and MBIE, essentially for inaction in processing residency visas, which have been stalled for at least 18 months due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The case is due to be heard in Wellington on November 3rd and 4th, but it's hoped the government may choose to take action sooner. Kathryn speaks with Sue Moroney the chief executive of Community Law, and "Mina", whose cousin is in Afghanistan and has been waiting years for her visa to be issued by Immigration New Zealand, and now fears for her life under Taliban rule.

09:30 Health Minister Andrew Little responds on medicinal cannabis
 

Last week Nine to Noon looked at the situation with the availability of medicinal cannabis in New Zealand. October 1 marked an end to the bulk importation of unapproved products, leaving just four products from Canadian company Tilray as the only ones that had managed to meet the minimum standards that came into effect in April 2020. Medsafe has left the door open for doctors and pharmacies to import directly for patients on an individual basis, but there are concerns about how practical this is. Since the scheme was set up, no New Zealand companies had managed to get medicinal cannabis products to market - but the Medicinal Cannabis Agency announced yesterday the first NZ products from Helius Pharmaceuticals had reached the minimum standards. Kathryn speaks with Health Minister Andrew Little about how well the scheme is working for medicinal cannabis patients.

09:40 Filming movie scenes in space

 In the next day or so a film crew is heading off to spend a week and a half on the international space station. Scenes for the Russian movie Challenge will be shot at the space station that orbits around 400 kilometres above the Earth. One of the actors who plays a surgeon has to do heart surgery on a sick cosmonaut!. To discuss the commericial use of the galactic facility, Space archaeologist Alice Gorman from  Flinders University.

09:45 USA correspondent  Ron Elving

President Biden's agenda is at risk with further delays on spending packages and the threat of a potential default as a critical borrowing limit looms. And Ron has an update on the oil spill in the Pacific that has reached the  California coast.

Ron Elving is a Senior Editor and Correspondent, Washington Desk for NPR news 
 

10:05 How to find the words to start difficult conversations

Right now, there's probably a uncomfortable conversation you've been meaning to have with someone, but you've been avoiding it. Perhaps you fear saying the wrong thing, or the person getting emotional, or that you won't know what to say to help them. Dr Kathryn Mannix knows how daunting these types of conversations can be. She's been a palliative care doctor for 30 years and is a qualified cognitive behaviour therapist, and in that time working with the dying, has had to navigate more than her fair share of tough conversations. Kathryn understands that we all have moments when words fail us, and has written a book to help others find the words to start these difficult conversations, called Listen: How to Find the Words for Tender Conversations. She speaks to Kathryn from Northumberland. 

10:35 Book review: The Altar Boys by Suzanne Smith

Quentin Johnson reviews The Altar Boys by Suzanne Smith published by Harper Collins

10:45 The Reading

11:05 Business commentator Pattrick Smellie - a third supermarket chain

Pattrick talks to Kathryn about who is behind the would-be third supermarket chain, Northelia, which says it wants to take on Woolworths and Foodstuffs? And a look at the last time anyone had a go at this - Albert Gubay and the Three Guys supermarkets that came to NZ in the 1970s. Also last week’s loss in the Supreme Court by Trans Tasman Resources which was quickly hailed as the death of seabed mining aspirations in NZ.

Pattrick Smellie is the editor and co-founder of BusinessDesk and has reported on the New Zealand economy and business since 1983.

11:30 Facebook quizzes - and why you should think before you click

Which food matches your personality? What city should you really live in? Which Disney princess are you? Questions like these are often packaged into quizzes on social media - but the information users are providing could be a veritable gold mine for scammers. Gemma Rasmussen from Consumer NZ joins me this morning to talk about the things you need to consider before you click, as online safety becomes more important than ever.

11:45 Media commentator Andrew Holden - Data Journalism 

Andrew talks to Kathryn about the many and varied examples of data journalism. Currently the Pandora papers has 650+ journalists around the world sifting through nearly 12 million documents to identify tax dodging and hidden billions He says that's the top end of data journalism. Other examples are going through datasets, such as health records, to find themes and new information. Andrew also highlights the work of some local data journalists.

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. 

 

Music played in this show

Track: Write A List Of Things To Look Forward To
Artist: Courtney Barnett
Broadcast time: 11:30am