Nine To Noon for Wednesday 2 February 2022

 

09:05 Credit crunch hits businesses: new data

How is the credit crunch biting small businesses seeking loans?  Changes to the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA), which were intended to protect borrowers from loan sharks, are now making it harder for some businesses seeking credit, not just for home buyers applying for mortgages. The latest figures from the New Zealand owned and operated credit reporting bureau Centrix shows it is far more difficult across the board to access credit under the new rules.  Centrix managing director Keith McLaughlin tells Kathryn it takes longer, costs more, there's greater disclosure required and more applications are being declined.  Also joining, co-founder of small business platform, Manaaki, Andy Hamilton.

09:30 DOC's new head outlines her challenges and priorities

Kathryn speaks with the new Director General of the Department of Conservation, Penny Nelson. She's taken over from Lou Sanson, and has held senior roles with the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry for Primary Industries. DOC is responsible for managing one-third of the country's landmass, and some in the sector say its time for fundamental reform of the more than 25 pieces of legislation governing it.

09:45 Australia: May election likely, RAT tests for students and 'Woden the Bogan'

Australia correspondent Chris Niesche joins Kathryn to talk about a likely May election and how Scott Morrison is struggling in the latest polling. School's back from summer - and all students will undergo twice-weekly RAT tests now the supply issues with them have passed. And 'Woden the Bogan' becomes the first person in Australia to be convicted of the charge of ‘publication of material to incite racial hatred’.

10:05 Mariana Mazzucato: governments must collaborate with private sector

Renowned economist Mariana Mazzucato argues that governments ought to be active co-creators and co-shapers of markets alongside the private sector. She is a is Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London (UCL), where she is Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose. She is also chairs the World Health Organization Council on the Economics of Health for All. In her latest book, Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, Professor Mazzucato argues that capitalism is failing to solve a host of problems including disease, inequality, the digital divide and the environmental crisis. She points to many of the world's greatest achievements,  such as the moon landing or the invention of the internet, which she says stemmed from government investment, not the private sector.  What would it take to bring the best out of both public and private sectors, in pursuit of mission goals on urgent and massive challenges ?  Professor Mazzucato will be appearing at the New Zealand Festival.

10:35 Book Review - Three of the best of 2021: The Devil's Trumpet by Tracey Slaughter, Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen and Devotion by Hannah Kent

Louise O'Brien reviews three of her favourite novels of 2021: The Devil's Trumpet by Tracey Slaughter published by VUP, Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen published by Harper Collins, Devotion by Hannah Kent published by Pan Macmillan

 

10:45 The Reading

Jamie McCaskill reads episode 3 of SPIDER by William Taylor. Today: Spider is presented with an opportunity that could change his life.

11:05 Social unemployment insurance scheme outlined

Workers who have been made redundant or who have to stop working for health reasons could receive 80 percent of their usual salary for up to seven months, under a proposed new government scheme. The social unemployment insurance scheme has been designed in partnership with Business New Zealand and the Council of Trade Unions. The proposals have just been outlined by the Minister of Finance, Grant Robertson, at a news conference at parliament. RNZ's political reporter Katie Scotcher has details.

11:05 Music with RNZ's Yadana Saw

RNZ music journalist Yadana Saw unravels the Spotify stoush, as Joe Rogan responds to Neil Young's departure from the platform. She'll also play a couple of her favourite summer tracks.

11:30 Helping families caught in domestic violence  
 

Several years ago, family violence survivor Anita Hinton founded a charity for others like her. The I Got Your Back Pack charity distributes backpacks of essential items to women, men and children in a domestic violence crisis. A story Anita scribbled on a napkin for her then five year old daughter, Neia, is now a published children's book A Place I Truly Belong.

11:45 Navigating separation after an on-again, off-again relationship

Divorce lawyer Jeremy Sutton joins Kathryn to talk about the issues couples need to think about if they're separating from an intermittent relationship. How is the length of a de facto relationship calculated when it comes to the Property (Relationships) Act? Jeremy will also talk about the impact Covid is having on hearings, with the unvaccinated unable to attend in person.

 

Music played in this show

Artist: Monophonics
Track: Last One Standing
Time played: 9:45