Nine To Noon for Wednesday 27 July 2022

 

09:05 Are plans for a mega-polytech in serious trouble?

Are the governments plans for a mega-polytech in serious trouble? Te Pukenga - or the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology - is supposed to be up and running by the January 1 2023, bringing together the all of the country's polytechnics, institutes of technology and Industry Training Organisations. But the entity is facing a deficit of up to $110 million, $53.5 million more than budgeted,  partly due to lower enrolments. The Chief Executive is on unexplained leave, an acting CE is in place, and last week the Chairperson extended an apology to all staff for not listening and not appreciating their expertise. The Education Minister Chris Hipkins says he's made it clear to Te Pukenga that the projected deficit is too high and wants an urgent update on how it is triming costs and creating further efficiencies. Kathryn speaks with the President of the Tertiary Education Union, Tina Smith

09:20 Jobs for Nature: keeping West Coast businesses afloat

South Westland businesses involved in a Jobs for Nature programme where the government pays their staff to work on conservation projects, are determined to find a way to keep it going after the funding runs out. As well as helping to keep the businesses afloat during the Covid disruptions, more than 70,000 hours have been spent trapping, weeding, maintaining tracks - and even finding an endangered bat species. The government has committed $3.78 million to the scheme and that'll end in June next year. At a recent hui at Fox Glacier many of the more than forty business who've signed up for the progamme agreed that it's done much more than simply keeping them afloat until tourism in the region rallies.  Kathryn speaks with Rob Stewart from Skydive Skydive Franz Josef and Fox Glacier, Dale Burrows from Franz Josef Wilderness Tours and Wayne Costello from DoC.

09:45 Australia: New Parliament, cautious travellers, Pride debacle

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton joins Kathryn to talk about the diversity of the new Parliament sitting for the first time since the federal election, why some international flights out of Australia are only 10 per cent full but flights to New Zealand are chokka, an apology from the Manly Rugby League club leadership over a plan to have the Sea Eagles players wear rainbow-striped pride jerseys and why Canberra is excited by its new US ambassador.

10:05 Geoff White on North Korea's prolific cyber-criminals, the Lazarus Group

Geoff White is an author and investigative journalist who has been tracking the exploits of North Korean cyber criminals the Lazarus Group. He's examined how a reclusive country where the internet is banned for ordinary citizens has managed to spawn one of the world's most effective hacking groups - and looked at their targets. It includes the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures, which was in retaliation for the movie The Interview - which depicted the assassination of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un and the attempt to get a billion dollars out of Bangladesh Bank. It also includes the WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017 which caused chaos in companies and institutions around the globe. Geoff's documented all this in a book called 'The Lazarus Heist', which is also the title of his BBC podcast with co-host Jean Lee. A new season of the podcast will be out later this year.

10:35 Book review: The Wrong Weather by Lucy Hawking

Joanna Ludbrook from Chicken and Frog Books in Featherston reviews The Wrong Weather, a 6 - 10 year old chapter book in the Princess Olivia Investigates series by Lucy Hawking. Published by Penguin Puffin.

10:45 The Reading

Episode 13 of 'Baby No Eyes' by Patricia Grace.

11:05 Music with Jess Fu: Aridni Orca, The Beths, Fazerdaze

Music reviewer Jess Fu joins Kathryn to look at a new solo project, Aridni Orca, by Indira Force - formerly of the Christchurch band Doprah. Auckland band, The Beths, has released their second single and title track from their upcoming sophomore album, 'Expert in A Dying Field'. Fazerdaze has returned with a brand new single called 'Come Apart', after 5 years since her debut album, Morningside, which came out on Flying Nun. 

 

11:20 Flooding cuts off State Highway One in Otago and South Canterbury

The heavy rain that's hit the middle and lower parts of the South Island is now causing a major headache for travellers, with the main state highway between Dunedin and Timaru cut off. Rain is forecast to continue over Otago until mid-afternoon, so closures and flood warnings may not change until rain and river levels subside.State Highway One is closed from Palmerston through to Dunedin's Botanic Gardens, as is State Highway 83 the Duntroon-Georgetown Road. In South Canterbury, SH1 is closed at St Andrews through Makihikihi to Glenavy north of the Waitaki Bridge. Kathryn is joined by Nicole Felts, Waka Kotahi Journey Manager for Otago and Southland.

11:30 A digital-only future? Ensuring public services stay accessible

A petition for more inclusive public services will be the subject of a one-hour special Parliamentary debate tomorrow. The campaign, run by the Citizens Advice Bureau, calls for government services to be accessible to people in the ways they need; whether that's online, in-person, or over-the-phone. The Citizens Advice Bureau says the public service is heading towards a digital-only future, but over-reliance on online platforms and the removal of people from the delivery of government services is marginalising the most vulnerable. Kathryn speaks to Andrew Hubbard, the acting chief executive of Citizens Advice Bureau about the petition and tomorrow's debate. 

11:45 Science: Air pollution + poor health, mystery radio signal, dog noses

Science correspondent Laurie Winkless joins Kathryn to talk about a new study which has looked at the effects of air pollution on the health of New Zealanders and calculated the 'social cost' of human-made air pollution at $15.6 billion per year. Astronomers have spotted a mysterious radio signal that is pulsing "like a heartbeat" in deep space and dogs really can "see" with their noses, researchers have found a link between the areas of a dog's brain that handle smell and vision.

Laurie Winkless is a physicist and science writer.

 

Music played in this show

Artist: Prince
Track: When Doves Cry
Time Played: 11:42