Nine To Noon for Wednesday 16 March 2022

 

09:05 Visa scheme for Ukraine refugees - does it go far enough?

Does the government's special visa scheme for Ukrainan refugees to join family members here go far enough? The plan, announced yesterday,  is open for one year and will allow Ukrainian-born New Zealand citizens and residents to sponsor a relative and their immediate family to come to this country. The government estimates about four thousand Ukrainaian refugees will be able to join their family members here. But Olha Viazenko,  who has lived in Dunedin with her husband and daughter for three and a half years on a working visa, says her family won't be eligible. She says the scheme is too narrow and only affect a small number. She joins Lynn Freeman, along with Victoriya Pashorina-Nichols from the group Mahi for Ukraine.

09:30 More strategic approach needed for intensification 

Auckland-based architect Rob Guild is sounding the alarm about the way New Zealand is approaching housing intensification; which risks poor design and a lack of amenity. He says while the need for more housing is urgent, New Zealand is at a crossroads; with a boom in medium-density housing developments expected once some resource consent requirements are dropped in August this year. Rob Guild says New Zealand, and Auckland in particular, needs a more coordinated strategy for how density occurs to ensure proper amenities which serve the community. He suggests New Zealand look to Australia for guidance in how planning is managed. Australia has a network of Government Architects, which set best practice for the design of good quality buildings and public spaces. Last year, the state of Victoria also established the Central Melbourne Design Guide to revitalise the city, including requirements for inner city design projects to be people-centred, with a special focus on street-level design. Lynn speaks with Rob Guild, principal architect at Buchan Group.

09:45 Australia correspondent Chris Niesche

Chris joins Lynn to look at the criticism being leveled at the federal government, after it was revealed it initially refused three requests from the New South Wales government for help during the devastating recent floods. After multiple delays Northern Territory police officer Zachary Rolfe has been found not guilty of murder in relation to the shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker. And Australia has joined with the Netherlands to launch legal action against Russia over the downing of MH17.

 

10:05 Breaking Good: Domestic abuse survivor Lisa Mead story of hope

Christchurch-based Lisa Mead spent years suffering domestic abuse at the hands of her partner. She is keen to stress it was abuse, not just violence. Violence, she says, is easy for people to understand but domestic abuse can be everything from manipulation and coercion to economic control. In the pandemic she sat down and started writing the story of how she came to leave her partner Tommy, the father to her son, Dakota. The result is her book: Breaking Good. It's a bruises-and-all story, but also - one of hope. It's been written with the blessing of Tommy. Lisa is a chartered accountant, and runs her own accountancy and business advisory firm, Social Currency. The company donates 10 per cent of its revenue to various charities that support at-risk kids.

Where to get help:

Women's Refuge: 0800 733 843

It's Not OK 0800 456 450

Shine: 0508 744 633

Victims Information

HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655 - then press 0

The National Network of Family Violence Services NZ has information on specialist family violence agencies

10:35 Book review: The Hotel by Sophie Calle

Stella Chrysostomou of Volume Books in Nelson reviews The Hotel by Sophie Calle, published by Siglio Press

This is a book about hotels, or rather those who stay in them through the eyes of a chambermaid. In fact, a not-a-chambermaid. French artist Sophie Calle spent a few months in 1981 employed at a Venetian hotel. Here she conducted a series of observations in photography and text of the rooms she cleaned when the guests were absent. She was a voyeur, - an explorer into what is both intimate and anonymous. Exquisite in content and production

10:45 The Reading

Part three of Airini Beautrais's Bug Week, read by Alex Greig.

11:05 Music with Kirsten Johnstone

It was supposed to be WOMAD this weekend, but sadly it joined the list of Covid-cancelled music gigs this year. To cheer herself up from that news, Kirsten joins Lynn to play some tracks she thinks would've made great additions to the festival, including from Silvana Estrada, John Francis Flynn and Kalush, which is Ukraine's Eurovision entry.

11:30 From bird deaths to feather friendly: Wellington's cable car building

Two years ago people started noticing dozens of dead and injured native birds at the top of the Wellington's famous cable car, in Kelburn. Kererū, kākāriki, and korimako were colliding with the huge glass walls of the terminal building, which sits on the flightpath between two significant bird habitats -the Botanic Gardens to the north and Zealandia to the south. So the Urban Wildlife Trust came up with a solution: to cover 150 square meters of the glass with a system of feather friendly decals, designed in Canada, which alerts birds to the fact that they are flying toward a solid object. The Trust fundraised $15, 000  the project, which in collaboration with the Cable Car Company, has just been completed. Lynn Freeman speaks with Trust spokesperson Tony Stoddard and Chief Executive of the Wellington Cable Car company, Cesar Piotto.

11:45 Arts: How dance companies are defying Covid cancellations

Many festivals have had to cancel live performances during this omicron outbreak, but arts commentator Lyne Pringle believe dance companies are doing a great job at finding ways to connect. She'll talk about Malia Johnson's Belle, a live stream this week of the Full Moon Folk Ball and the digital premieres this week of the NZ Dance Company's Artefact - How to Perform in A Museum and Waiwhakaata.

 

 

Music played in this show

Track: Come On In
Artist: Lady Wray
Time played: 9.48am

Track: Without Any Airs 
Artist: Fruit Bats
Time played: 10.35am

Track: Satisfied
Artist: The Staves
Time played: 11.32am