Nine To Noon for Tuesday 16 November 2021

 

 

09:05 Dine Now, Pay Later: Afterpay moves into Australian hospitality industry 

From this week, Australians will be able to use Afterpay to pay for food and beverages at 160 pubs and restaurants around the country. The hospitality group Australian Venue Co has partnered with Afterpay to launch "Dine Now, Pay Later". But that's sparked concern for budgeting service providers on both sides of the Tasman, who are already worried about increased debt as a result of Buy Now, Pay Later services like Afterpay, Humm, Zip and Laybuy. In New Zealand, the government is seeking feedback to understand how Buy Now, Pay Later products can trigger financial hardship - but also what benefits these services provide. MBIE is considering options for regulating the sector; from a voluntary industry code, through to applying the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act to Buy Now, Pay Later products. Kathryn speaks with Katherine Temple, director of policy and campaigns at Consumer Action Law Centre in Australia, and FinCap spokesperson Jake Lilley.

Anyone can have a free and confidential chat about their options with debt with MoneyTalks on 0800 345 123.

9:30 Restoring names for indigenous flora 

What's in a name? Two Auckland academics have just released a report arguing for a change to naming conventions for native plants. Professor Len Gillman of AUT and University of Auckland's Dr Shane Wright, whose whakapapa includes Te Āti Hau and Ngāti Tūwharetoa, say it's the first step in recognising the contribution of indigenous scientific knowledge. It's causing a stir in the scientific community about quite how we officially name plant and animal life. 

09:45 USA correspondent Ron Elving - US inflation soars

Ron talks to Kathryn about surging inflation and the effect on President Joe Biden and the Democrats, how the conversation around Donald Trump is changing, and the January 6 investigating committee and its subpoenas. 

Ron Elving is Senior Editor and Correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News.

10:05 Shipwreck tales: mishap, misery and mystery

Wellington writer John McCrystal has been interested in shipwrecks since he was a child, when at the age of six he first heard the tale of the General Grant, which struck the Auckland Islands in 1866 and went down laden with gold. John became consumed by the prospect of uncovering sunken treasure, and has been fascinated by stories of nautical disasters and misadventures ever since. Inspired by his popular radio series Shipwreck Tales, he's now published Worse Things Happen at Sea. It chronicles 24 shipwrecks, from the familiar, to the less well known. There's the USS Indianapolis, regarded as the world's worst mass shark attack, the enduring mystery of the abandoned Mary Celeste, and the sinking of the Mignotte and the ensuing test case for the "law of necessity" and cannibalism at sea. Closer to home, it includes the Wahine, the Mikhail Lermontov, and the Tararua - still New Zealand's worst civilian disaster at sea. John McCrystal talks to Kathryn about tales of mishap, misery, and the mysteries that have consumed our imaginations for decades.

10:35 Book review: Carnival of Snackery: Diaries 2003-2020 by David Sedaris 

Leah McFall reviews Carnival of Snackery: Diaries 2003-2020 by David Sedaris, published by Hachette Aotearoa NZ

Leah says: A second astringent instalment of diaries from America's foremost humorist, spanning 2003-2020. With an appetite for the odd, uncanny, and grotesque, he finds the sparkle in every encounter, from London to Paris, Tokyo to New York. But the finest entries describe the people he loves. 

10:45 The Reading

Dogside Story by Patricia Grace, episode 7 read by Waimihi Hotere.

 

11:05 Business commentator Pattrick Smellie - KiwiRail departures 

There's been a large number of people leaving  KiwiRail, Pattrick talks to Kathryn about what's driving it. Also, with the impending summer of Covid, a look at where rapid antigen testing is at. 

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

11:30 The Shifting Grounds of Tāmaki Makaurau 

Tāmaki Makaurau has a complicated and busy history. But it's a past that has been constantly built over, dug up or destroyed. Historian, author and curator at Auckland Museum Lucy Mackintosh has spent decades poring over the landscapes of Auckland. She's condensed her thinking into a new book titled Shifting Grounds: Deep Histories of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, published yesterday by Bridget Williams Books. Starting from the ground up Lucy is charting the relationships between people and place. 

11:45 Media commentator Andrew Holden - more reality TV 

Discovery is creating new tv channels and will have 5, the most of any free-to-air broadcaster. Andrew says more local content will be produced, though the skew is clearly to reality TV. And Broadcasting and Media Minister Kris Faafoi has received the final business case on the public broadcasting plan for TVNZ and RNZ but it won't be considered by Cabinet until the New Year.

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.