Nine To Noon for Monday 6 March 2023

09:05  Virtual nursing - the answer to staff shortages or a short cut?

Virtual nursing is on the rise in the aged care sector, in response to a chronic workforce shortage. 30 aged care homes around the country are using a virtual nursing service, to make sure they have registered nurses to cover overnight and other essential shifts. The registered nurse is off-site, and available to be phoned or video-called by care workers if they need nursing advice. Emergency Consult started a pilot in early 2022, which has now been rolled out in 24 BUPA facilities along with several other care homes. But the union representing care workers says not having qualified nurses on site puts too much pressure on care workers and could undermine the quality of care. Kathryn speaks with Jenni Falconer Chief Executive and founder of Emergency Consult, Simon Wallace,  Chief Executive of the Aged Care Association and Rachel Mackintosh, Assistant National Secretary of the Union representing care workers, E Tu.

09:30 In an emergency, can your electric car power your essentials?

As the power failed in Hawke's Bay and Tairawhiti during Cyclone Gabrielle, some electric vehicles enabled their users to keep the essentials switched on in their homes. Certain EV models are capable of bidirectional charging - which means as well as being charged at home, they can also take unused power in their batteries and use it to charge vital appliances like fridges and freezers. A step on from this, is vehicle-to-home - where you can take the power you don't use in your car and use it to power your home or business - and the ultimate: vehicle-to-grid - where you could take your EV's unused power generated by solar and export it to the grid.  To talk us through the possibilities, and tell us which EVs are currently able to be used to provide back up power in an emergency, Kathryn is joined by Gavin Shoebridge who's with Ecotricity and helped deliver an EV to a stranded family in Hawke's Bay during the Cyclone.

09:45 Middle East correspondent Sebastian Usher

Sebastian looks at an escalation of tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, as Israel gets to grips with its new far-right Netanyahu government. He'll look at the poisoning of hundreds of schoolgirls in Iran over the past three months and how devastating earthquakes have seen Arab nations re-engaging with president Bashar-al-Assad in Syria.

Sebastian Usher is a BBC Middle East analyst, editor and reporter

10:05 Chronic pain: 'Information is power'

Millions of people around the world experience chronic pain but little is really known about it or how to best treat it. Paul Biegler is a former doctor, academic and science journalist who started investigating chronic pain after pain from a knee injury endured for months longer than he expected it to. He was given pain killers and told he'd need surgery. Then he began reading about the  idea that your brain can think you have an injury when you no longer do. His book is called Why does it still hurt? How the power of knowledge can overcome chronic pain. He joins Kathryn from Monash University in Melbourne

10:35 Book review: Below by David Hill

Joanna Ludbrook from Chicken and Frog Books in Featherston reviews Below by David Hill, published by Penguin

10:45 Around the motu: David Williams in Christchurch 

David looks at a legal case being brought against Environment Canterbury over the way it's handled water take limits on the Rakaia River, following the leaking of a draft report from within the regional council itself which suggested a water conservation order was being breached. He'll also look at staffing issues within the Christchurch City Council - including the continued absence of two senior managers.

David Williams is a South Island reporter for Newsroom.

11:05 Political commentators Hughes & Morten

Gareth and Brigitte join Kathryn to look at National leader Christopher Luxon's state of the nation speech yesterday with its focus on lowering childcare costs, the Prime Minister's apology for his downplaying of crime in Cyclone Gabrielle-ravaged parts of the country and the sacking of Rob Campbell from his two positions and what he may have revealed about Ministers' positions on co-governance.

Gareth Hughes is a former Green MP and now works for the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa. 

Brigitte Morten is a director with public and commercial law firm Franks & Ogilvie and a former senior ministerial advisor for the previous National-led government. 

11:30 A beeline to modern-day mead making

When former professional rafting guide Jay Bennett captured a swarm of bees living in the wall of his house, life pivoted and he became a beekeeper. But he didn't stop there. The Taupō local has recently opened Beehave - a craft meadery featuring new wave character meads infused with a diverse range of flavours like chilli, mojito and vanilla, along with sparkling and non-alcoholic varieties. Jay tells Kathryn every flavour comes with a story and shares his interesting journey into the old world art of mead-making.

11:45 Off the beaten track: Seaweek and the solace of wild places

Outdoorsman Kennedy Warne looks at Seaweek, a country-wide programme held annually in New Zealand which involves beach clean-ups, community snorkelling days, film screenings, lecturers and - in Waiheke - something called a conscious swim. It comes as the UN agreed on language for a new treaty to facilitate international protection of the high seas. But, Kennedy says it is is not just the undersea world that brings that quieting of the mind. So too the underworld on land. He has just spent time walking and boating through the limestone caves at Waitomo courtesy of a tourism venture aptly named Spellbound.