Nine To Noon for Monday 11 October 2021

09:05 Are our emergency departments Covid fit? - as Delta patients rise

Emergency doctors throughout the country have been surveyed about how prepared they feel their respective hospitals ED facilities are equipped to cope. The results make for grim reading with specialists highlighting significant and worrying gaps in hospitals' ability to cope with the spread of infection. The survey was carried out by Dr Michael Howard - he's an emergency consultant at Whangarei Hospital and has a PhD in immunology and microbiology. With hospitals and ICU wards in Auckland already busy with pandemic patients, and now positive cases in Waikato and Whangarei  - Dr Howard says there is cause for concern.

09:30 Happy 20th anniversary, Superfund

New Zealand's Superfund celebrates its 20th anniversary today, as Baby Boomers hit retirement age.  Former Minister of Finance, Sir Michael Cullen established the fund on October 11th 2001, in anticipation of a bulge in an aging population reitiring.  The Government started withdrawing from the Fund last year.  It's set to keep growing for many decades, having started with an initial contribution from the government of $2.4 billion. Currently it's worth $60bn.  CEO of the Superfund Matt Whineray talks to Kathryn Ryan.

09:45 Germany correspondent Thomas Sparrow

Thomas reflects on Angela Merkel's legacy, and updates on the ongoing coalition negotiations following last month's landmark election which marked the end of Angela Merkel's 16 years as Chancellor.

Thomas Sparrow is a political correspondent for Deutsche Welle, based in Berlin

09:55 Living vicariously in level 3: Opshop treasures part 2

Following on from Friday's story of the woman living in level 3 Waiheke Island, who was taken on a vicarious op shop tour by her level 2 partner in Te Aroha. 

We have an update!

Saturday's tour was in Paeroa, with Phill Palmer picking up another haul for Lisa Talbot:

10:05 Investigative journalist Carol Leonnig lays bare Donald Trump's last year in office

 

Carol Leonnig is a national investigative reporter at The Washington Post, and a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner. Her latest book, co-written with Philip Rucker details the extraordinary actions of senior military leaders who feared a possible coup in the final weeks of Donald Trump's presidency, by the President himself. I Alone Can Fix This reveals the concerns the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - General Mark Milley had, regarding the intentions of the President, including asking  fellow military leaders to advise him if they believed the President might launch a nuclear weapon, as a distraction to the ructions of his final months and weeks in office. The book outlines just how far the military leaders were prepared to go, within constitutional bounds, to try to thwart any such move.

10:35 Book review: The Jealousy Man by Jo Nesbo

Harry  Broad reviews The Jealousy Man by Jo Nesbo, published by Penguin Random House NZ   

10:45 The Reading

'All That Ends Starts Again' by Rochelle Elliot told for us by Vivienne Bell.

11:05 Political commentators Jones & Hehir - the politics of pandemic strategy

Neale, Liam and Kathryn discuss the Government's gamble on Covid strategy, was it a politics driven decision?. Also the dilemmas over vaccine passports and slowness on supplementary testing. Does this give National room to gain ground?.

 Neale Jones was Chief of Staff to Labour Leader Jacinda Ardern, and prior to that was Chief of Staff to Andrew Little. He is the director of Capital Government Relations.

Liam Hehir is a Palmerston North lawyer, political commentator and a National Party member.

 

11:30 Demand for designer donuts  

Comfort food for unsettling times. An Auckland designer donut making couple say business is booming. Daniel and Annie Black are the owners of Grown Up Donuts, and been inundated with orders through lockdown keeping delivery staff busy. Their three stores were closed during level four, but since starting up the business three and a half years ago, growth has been steady.

11:45 Off the beaten track with Kennedy Warne - Wildlife during lockdown.

Kennedy explore the impact Covid restrictions having on the natural world. Does nature respond to the reprieve? Also, is there anything to learn from the spate of young seals washing up on beaches in the Hauraki Gulf?