Nine To Noon for Tuesday 13 September 2022

 

 

09:05 Traffic light system scrapped: masks, vaccine mandate dropped

For the first time since March 2020 there are no major Covid restrictions in New Zealand. On Monday the Cabinet decided to scrap the traffic light system and drop almost all restrictions; masks are now only needed in hospitals or aged care homes, vaccine requirements for travellers have been removed, and isolation for household contacts has been dropped. Covid positive cases do still need to isolate for seven days. Kathryn speaks to Dr Ayesha Verrall, Covid Response Minister and infectious diseases expert.

09:25 Dunedin Mayoral Race

In Dunedin 11 mayoral hopefuls are vying for the top job at this year's local body elections. Incumbent Aaron Hawkins is being challenged by a group of fellow councillors who all say his leadership style leaves a lot to be desired.

The election is likely to be fought over the future of the city's one-way road system, the council's spending and debt levels as well as its move to make the inner-city more pedestrian and cycling friendly.

Kathryn talks to Otago Daily Times senior journalist Grant Miller who covers the Dunedin City Council.

We've also covered mayoralty races in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington   

 

09:45 USA: Abortion and inflation top polling issues ahead of midterms

Danielle Kurtzleben is today's US correspondent. Abortion and inflation are top issues at the polls ahead of November's midterm elections and many eyes will be on Michigan's vote to enshrine abortion rights...could it galvanise Democrat turnout? And Colorado's Senate race is turning into a test of non-Trump Republicans.

Danielle Kurtzleben is a political correspondent assigned to NPR's Washington Desk
 

10:05 Monty Soutar on his first foray into fiction

Acclaimed Maori historian Monty Soutar has turned his hand to fiction for the first time, drawing on almost 40 years of research into the history of Aotearoa and his own ancestral line. Kāwai: For Such a Time as This, is the first in an ambitious series looking at how colonisation has shaped Aotearoa New Zealand. In the novel,  a 19 year old Māori student asks his elderly grand-uncle about his tipuna, the respected warrior Kaitanga. That's in 1980. Then we're taken back to 1734, to Te Maniaroa, to the aftermath of a battle.

10:35 Book review - The Stupefying by Nick Ascroft

Harry Ricketts reviews The Stupefying by Nick Ascroft, published by Te Herenga Waka University Press

10:45 The Reading

The Writing Class, episode 6. Written by Stephanie Johnson, and told by Alison Quigan.

11:05 Business: Traffic lights gone, Todd Corp's global mega projects

Business commentator Pattrick Smellie talks about the "political" decision to end the traffic light system and whether it was inevitable, once the public's will to be compliant was gone. And he'll look at the Todd Corporation's mega projects in Western Australia and Louisiana... as always, it's notoriously quiet about its projects, but developments in the public domain give a good indication of where the company representing New Zealand's wealthiest family is heading.

Pattrick Smellie is the editor and co-founder of BusinessDesk and has reported on the New Zealand economy and business since 1983.

11:30 The Fossil Treasures of Foulden Maar

 Foulden Maar in Otago is a paleontological site of international importance, offering a window into our past through long-dead fish, flowers and insects.  It's also a site of interest for a commercial mining company, which has gone into receivership, and the site is locked to the outside world and still has no legal protection. University of Otago scientist Daphne Lee has just published a new book called Fossil Treasures of Foulden Maar. It offers a much more positive perspective, introducing us to her passion for this extraordinary spot which was formed by a volcanic eruption some 23 million years ago and which preserves countless rare and well preserved fossils.

11:45 How the world's media covered the Queen's death

Andrew Holden discusses coverage of the Queen's death, public submissions on the Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media Bill; the government's Maori Broadcasting Strategy and the slowing domestic advertising market.

Andrew was a journalist for more than 30 years including five as Editor of The Press (in Christchurch) and four as Editor-in-Chief of The Age in Melbourne.

 

 

Music played in this show

Track: Karamata
Artist: Riiki Reid
Time played: 9.40

Track: Tomorrow Never Knows
Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Time played: 10.34

Track: Gotta Give It Up
Artist: Marvin Gaye     
Time played: 10.42