Nine To Noon for Wednesday 9 March 2022

 

 

09:05 3 Waters changes proposed: can the impasse be broken?

An independent working group of Council and Iwi representatives has reccomended a raft of changes to the government's three waters proposal. The plan would see the country's 67 councils' drinking, waste and storm water assets taken over by four large regional entities, in order to provide an extra 120-185 billion in water infrastructure over the next three decades.The working group was established after a backlash from councils concerned about loss of local ownership, privatisation and the ability to maintain a local voice within large entities.The reports makes 47 recommendations including a public shareholding model, with Councils owning all the shares in the new Water Services Entities on behalf of their communities. Kathryn speaks with Campbell Barry, Mayor of Hutt City, who was one of eight mayors and 11 iwi representatives on the Working Group.

09:20 Kids unnecessarily missing out on school camps: YMCA

Tens of thousands of school children are unnecessarily missing school camps due to fears over omicron Covid, according to one of the largest providers of outdoor camps. The YMCA runs school camps in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland for thousand of students each year. It says most camps have been cancelled this term despite clear Ministry of Education guidelines on how to run them safely. Chief Executive of the Y Christchurch, Josie Ogden Schroeder, says they've heard from hundreds of parents disappointed that their children's camps have been cancelled. She says school principals and boards are putting camps in the "too hard basket", but the YMCA believes camps can be held safely, and now, more than ever, are what kids need. She speaks with Kathryn, along with Cherie Taylor-Patel, National President of the New Zealand Principals' Federation.

09:30 New study looks at how machine learning can help palliative care patients

Those working in the health sector will tell you of the patient who's sick - but doesn't want to be a bother, so doesn't ask for help, even though they really need it. Or the family that is desperately worried about the health of their loved one, who is pretending that's everything's ok, when it's not. Kathryn speaks with Dr Margaret Sandham, who's spear-headed a study into how machine learning could help in the palliative care sector, picking up crucial symptoms that can mark a change in the health of a patient, so appropriate care can be given. The research, conducted by AUT, analysed the symptoms of 800 patients at an Auckland hospice, using a combination of statistical tools, machine learning, and network visualisation. Margaret explains how the data could have application for mobile apps and wearable technology - a much less intrusive way of keeping tabs on the health of a patient, than constant phone calls or visits from health workers.

09:45 Australia: Record rainfall shows no sign of stopping

Australia correspondent Bernard Keane joins Kathryn to look at the devastating floods sweeping the east coast of Australia. With the rain still falling, and thousands under evacuation orders, what might the long-term impact of this flood event be at a political level? He'll also untangle the submarine deal that has prime minister Scott Morrison now pledging to build a new base on Australia’s east coast to support the future nuclear-powered fleet that'll be acquired under the AUKUS partnership.

10:05 Does working from home work? 

Many of us are becoming acquainted again with our kitchen tables, frantically scavenged home desks and even beds as working from home once again becomes the main show in town. It's not the first time workers in Aotearoa have shifted to their homes, and for some people it's preferable. But critics of working from home argue that business don't do anything that isn't good for their bottom lines and that the "remote working" fad is dangerous for workers physically and mentally. Anne Helen Petersen and Charlie Warzel are journalists who left New York for the bright lights of Missoula Montana well before the pandemic hit, and had very different experiences of working from home. They've been looking at the psychology and realities of remote work during the pandemic and put their findings together in a new book titled Out of Office - The big problem and bigger promise of working from home. 

10:35 Book review: When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo

Phil Vine reviews When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo, published by Penguin Random House NZ

10:45 The Reading

Stuart Devenie reads episode 13 of Live Bodies, written by Maurice Gee.

11:05 Music with Yadana Saw

Yadana Saw shares a couple of new songs from local artists, including one who has recently been on tour with Harry Styles, and uplifting, rousing gospel reissue from influential Chicago preacher Pastor T. L Barrett.

11:20 Natural Paint Co: The Kiwi business stripping out the nasties

Last week Nine to Noon looked at calls for greater oversight of the 30,000 chemicals approved for use here. But Christchurch-based Natural Paint Co is already a long way down the road. Founded by James Mount and Grace Glass seven years ago, the online-only company's products use only natural clays, pigments and resins - and fully details its ingredients. Kathryn speaks to Grace about how the pair embarked on their endeavour - at the age of 22 - and the success they've had.    

11:45 Science with Dr Siouxsie Wiles

Science commentator Dr Siouxsie Wiles joins Kathryn to look at the new study that's examined the brains of people who'd had a Covid infection and found a worrying reduction in the size of their grey matter in the areas responsible for memory and smell. And tuatara were famous for being large lizards that are the only surviving member of the order Sphenodontia - but a closer look at a fossil languishing in a collection at Harvard University has also found to be an ancient species dating back 190 million years. What can this discovery tell us about its New Zealand relative?

Music played in this show

Artist:  Broods
Track: If You Fall in Love
Time played: 10:36

 

Artist:  Beirut
Track: Fisher Island Sound
Time played: 10:44
 

Artist:  El Michels Affair
Track: Masterclass 
Time played: 10:58