Nine To Noon for Wednesday 10 August 2022

 

09:05 National MP's past under scrutiny

National MP Sam Uffindell's past is being put under the microscope following allegations made by a former flatmate when he was at Otago University. The woman told RNZ he was an aggressive bully who scared her so badly one night she fled through her bedroom window. In a statement last night,  Uffindell denied the claims and said there was a falling out between two flatmates. While Uffindell is stood down, an investigation into his past will be conducted by Maria Dew QC. It will include the original allegation - admitted by Uffindell himself - of an attack on a 13-year-old boarder while he was a 16-year-old student at Kings College - actions that resulted in him being made to leave the school. So did National have any other option, but the one it's taken?  Susie speaks with political commentator and former National government press secretary, Ben Thomas.

09:15 New report calls for a radical overhaul of ACC 

A new report is calling for a radical overhaul of ACC, the no-fault system set up in 1974 covers people injured in accidents and can't work - but leaves out people who are unwell or disabled. It's created a system of inconsistencies: get injured and you're covered - get cancer and you're on your own. Warren Forster is a lawyer and researcher who has been working in the ACC sector for many years - his new report out today calls for all impairments to be covered and is the culmination of seven years of research - reflecting thousands of cases he's either been involved with or which have been shared with him by claimants.

 

09:30 Dame Emma Thompson on her most challenging role yet

Highly respected British actor, screenwriter and environmental activist, Dame Emma Thompson, says her latest film challenges the 'cougar' label put on women who're in relationships with younger men.  In GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE she plays a widow, Nancy, who hires a younger male sex worker. They come to form a close relationship that's both intimate and emotional. Dame Emma says in life and on screen we're used to seeing older men with younger women, but society still can't cope with the idea of an older woman in a genuine relationship with a young man. Her film credits include The Remains of the Day, Love Actually; Saving Mr. Banks;  Much Ado About Nothing; Carrington; and acting and writing both Nanny McPhee movies. She talks with Susie Ferguson.

09:45 Australia: Music heaven, recession fears, jobs for the boys

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton looks at the rough couple of weeks for Australian music, with the loss of indigenous folk musician Archie Roche, then The Seekers' Judith Durham and Olivia Newton-John.  The Reserve Bank is facing strong criticism that its sharp rate-rising strategy after years of deliberately holding back is going to plunge Australia into recession. Former deputy New South Wales premier John Barilaro is under scrutiny for his new plum gig - a position he created while in office and Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart is suspended and fined over a verbal attack on a Penrith player.

10:05 The secrets of soil and how it shapes our lives

Australian soil scientist Alisa Bryce describes soil as a wonderful mysterious world, an underground jungle, a nexus of a portal between life and death. In her popular science book, Grounded she focuses on how life could not exist without soil and how it informs so much of what we do, so much beyond agriculture.

10:35 Book review: Poor People With Money by Dominic Hoey

Ash Davida Jane reviews Poor People With Money by Dominic Hoey, published by Penguin Random House NZ

10:45 The Reading

In the reading today we pick up the story in Carl Nixon's The Tally Stick with the three Chamberlain children lost in deep bush after the car they were traveling in plunged off the road down to the river below. Part three is told by Vivien Bell.

11:05 Music: Ian Chapman on the use of bagpipes in rock & pop

Music correspondent Ian Chapman looks at the popularity of an instrument with a very distinctive sound...the bagpipes. They're stirring, and conjure up an air of grandeur and history - but real bagpipes can be very problematic to record in the studio and sometimes synthesisers or guitars are used to imitate them. He'll look at the reasons why.

11:20 How a bow and arrow inspired decades of hunting 

Mucking around with a bow and arrow as a young Waikato boy has led to Peter Hill having countless hunting adventures. A first time author, he writes about his devotion to hunting in his book Straight Arrows and Fast Bullets : A Hunter's Tale. He's done a range of jobs, including  working a professional hunter for the Forest Service culling goats and earning a living as a possum trapper. Now Peter spends the winter months fencing, and this summer he will be building his fishing guide business back up, after a couple of Covid affected years.
 

11:45 Science: Viral treatment for inflammatory bowel disease, busting maths stereotypes

Science commentator Dr Siouxsie Wiles joins Susie to look at a study that identified five viruses that were able to kill a bacteria that inflamed the guts of mice - and the hope it may offer those suffering from inflammatory bowel disease. Even reading a brief story about women and girls engaging in maths was enough to change children's stereotypes about maths being only for boys. And a US study found people are still testing positive at the end of their 7 days' isolation, which means they're still infectious.

 

Music played in this show

Artist: Lime Cordiale
Track: Nobody Takes Me Seriously
Time Played: 10:32