Nine To Noon for Friday 10 December 2021

 

 

09:05    Former child refugee can't get her fiancé​ out of Afghanistan

A woman whose family fled the Taliban for New Zealand when she was a child says the only option she's been left with for getting her Afghan fiancé here is to go collect him herself - which would put both of their lives at risk. It's called "fetch and fly" by those dealing with hundreds of cases of New Zealand citizens or permanent residents with loved ones stuck overseas during the pandemic. While borders will "open" from April, temporary offshore visas allowing partners and family to reunite won't be processed until August. Immigration NZ agrees Samira is in a 'genuine and stable relationship' with her fiancé - but denied her a visa to bring him here on the basis they haven't lived together. It also rejected a humanitarian border exception because the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan "isn't exceptional". Kathryn talks to immigration advisor Katy Armstrong about Immigration NZ's decision and to Samira about her situation, her fears for the safety of her fiancé - and why returning to Afghanistan is simply too risky now.

09:30 45% of psychiatrists want to quit amid soaring demand for health services

Almost half of psychiatrists report wanting to leave their jobs in the face of the soaring demand for mental health services. A report by the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists found three quarters of psychiatrists have reported an increase in their caseloads, and on the demands of on-call work in the last three years. Cases are also becoming increasingly complex. And despite the number of people experiencing psychological distress increasingly significantly in the last decade, the numbers of staff, acute beds and availability of respite care have not increased correspondingly. For the medical specialists at the coalface of this mental health crisis, it presents a stressful and challenging workplace, with no signs of positive change. Kathryn speaks with Dr Charlotte Chambers, the report's author and the Director of Policy and Research at the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. 

09:45 Asia correspondent Ed White

Myanmar's popular leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to four years as the situation worsens further in Myanmar. In Afghanistan there are signs China, via its mining companies, are looking at opportunities for resource extraction in the latest sign of shifting power structures following the rushed exit of the US and its allies. 

 Ed White is a correspondent with the Financial Times.

10:05 Spooked: Barry Meier on the murky world of spies for hire

Five years ago the world's media was abuzz with allegations about incoming president Donald Trump and some - pretty salacious - details of what he'd got up to while in Russia. The so-called Trump Dossier had been prepared by Christopher Steele - a former Russia-based spy for Britain's MI6 who'd set up his own private investigation company. Much of the 35-page dossier has remained unverified, and my guest today is highly critical of its publication - and the media frenzy that followed. Barry Meier has looked at the rise of corporate investigators - or "spies-for-hire" - zoning in on companies like Black Cube and the Israeli NSO Group. It's an opaque industry - but one that's been valued at around $2.5 billion. Barry's book is called Spooked: The Secret Rise of Private Spies.

10:35 Book review: The Fell by Sarah Moss

Kiran Dass reviews The Fell by Sarah Moss, published by Picador

10:45 The Reading

11:05 New music with Jeremy Taylor

A 50th anniversary for Sly & The Family Stone's magnum opus, timeless classics from Siouxsie & The Banshees and Arthur Russell and new music from Connan Mockasin.

11:30 Sports commentator Sam Ackerman

The spotlight is on a couple of high performance coaches with the departure of Cycling NZ Sprint coach René Wolff as the investigation into the organisation continues, and criticism of Black Ferns coach Glenn Moore and his staff's approach during the horror Northern Hemisphere tour. In cricket, Ross Taylor's Black Caps future is in question, Sam explores whether his recent sub-continent failings may be the end of the line in his decorated career. And the most hyped series in all of cricket, the Ashes is underway.

11:45 The week that was with

Comedians Te Radar and Gemma Gracewood with some humourous stories.

Music played in this show

Track: Parking Lot
Artist: The Weather Station 
Time played: 09.32 

Track: Starlight 
Artist: Yola 
Time Played: 10.41