Nine To Noon for Tuesday 18 April 2023

 

 

09:05 A "litany of failures" for missing Ōmāio man 

The sister of a mentally unwell man who went missing in the bush on a work trial is blaming "a litany failures" from the various agencies who should have kept him safe, and is still looking for answers 18 months later. In October 2021 Jason Butler was taken into the rugged Raukūmara ranges in the Bay of Plenty by a DOC contractor on an unapproved, overnight work trial, and has not been seen since. When the contractor emerged from the bush, they took four days to alert their employer, Ngā Whenua Rāhui, and to report Jason missing to the police. Only a week and half earlier Jason Butler had discharged himself from Whakatāne Hospital, after being sectioned under the Mental Health Act when he became manic and delusional. His whānau say he was in the worst mental and physical health of his life. 18 months after he went missing, his sister Huia Mackley is still looking for answers. She speaks to Kathryn about her disappointment with various agencies involved in Jason's life in his last few weeks. 

Huia Mackley and her whānau are fundraising to hire a lawyer for the coronial inquiry.

09:25 Measures to improve depleted Auckland Hauraki Gulf mussel beds

A collaborative conservation project to rewild the Hauraki Gulf with green lipped mussels/kūtai is underway. The joint initiative between Kelly Tarlton's Marine Wildlife Trust, the University of Auckland's Institute of Marine Science and the group, Revive Our Gulf is focused on finding if there's a particular seaweed that might entice the spat to start a community on the ocean floor. Kathryn discusses initiatives aimed at restoring the health of the Hauraki Gulf with global Aquarium industry consultant, and trustee with Kelly Tarlton Marine Wildlife Trust, Craig Thorburn, who is managing the mussel spat experiment and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei general manager for the environment/Pou Taiao, Kingi Makoare 

09:45 US: Abortion drug could go, more mass shootings put pressure on Senate

US correspondent Ron Elving joins Kathryn to talk about why all eyes are on the Supreme Court, as it weighs whether to rule immediately on the mifepristone abortion drug issue or push it out till later in the year. There's been another week of mass shootings with multiple victims, as the Senate returns - but at less than full strength - amid pressure over guns and abortion hit a new crescendo.

Ron Elving is Senior Editor and Correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News.

10:05  Kiwi historian's role in uncovering Guardian's slavery shame

A Kiwi historian is helping with the detective work linking The Guardian to 19th Century trans-Atlantic slavery.  On the face of it, it would seem incongruous to associate the liberal Guardian with brutally forced unpaid chatteled labour. But in 1821 the newly founded then-Manchester Guardian, and much of the North West of England, spun on money from cotton, supplied by slavery to the textile industry, fueling the industrial revolution.  Kathryn speaks with Professor Trevor Burnard, director of the University of Hull's Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation.  His and fellow academics' investigation into the Guardian's founders' financial links with slavery has helped the British newspaper's mea culpa following this embarrassing outing.  The Guardian has put in place a twenty million dollar decade-long programme of restorative justice for descendants of slaves and a journalism series exploring the history of transatlantic slavery and its legacies. But as Trevor argues, guilt has a long and wide-reaching arm.  Beyond those who parted with cold hard cash earned on the back of slavery, anyone who wore cotton or stirred sugar into their tea benefited from it, including the abolitionists of the time.

10:35 Book review: The Deck by Fiona Farrell

Lynn Freeman reviews The Deck by Fiona Farrell, published by Penguin Random House NZ

10:45 Around the motu: Georgina Campbell in Wellington

NZ Herald reporter Georgina Campbell joins Kathryn for the latest on the faulty streetlight saga in Wellington, after a plan to stop light shining into people's homes were spectacularly wrong. Wellington's harbourmaster has issued an ultimatum to the owner of a leaking yacht after marina staff spent six months pumping water out of the vessel to prevent it from sinking. And snow Leopard sisters Asha and Manju have arrived at Wellington Zoo. Georgina Campbell is NZ Herald Wellington issues reporter.

11:05 Business: Murdoch vs Dominion Systems, new teeth for competition law

Business commentator Rebecca Stevenson joins Kathryn to talk about a scheduled US court appearance this week for Rupert Murdoch over claims his right-wing news channel Fox attempted to ruin the reputation of voting machine maker Dominion Systems. The case has already provided fascinating insight into how Fox works - and the trial hasn't even started yet. And Rebecca dives into the Commerce Amendment Bill and what it means for how the Commerce Commission will approach those firms holding substantial market power.

Rebecca Stevenson  is a senior writer at interest.co.nz

11:30 Inge Woolf: a tale of resilience and survival

Inge Woolf was born in 1934 to a prosperous Jewish family in Vienna, but by 1938, the Nazis were marching into her hometown. What follows is a remarkable story of courage and escape for Inge and her family, first to Prague, then on to England, and eventually to New Zealand. Inge Woolf became a proud Kiwi, marrying photographer Ronald Woolf, and together they created a successful photography business. In her later years, Inge dedicated herself to making sure the horrors of the Holocaust and World War Two are never forgotten. She was instrumental in establishing the New Zealand Holocaust Centre, and was its founding director. Up until her death in 2021, she was working on a book about her life story, which has been picked up and finished by her daughter Deborah Hart. Kathryn speaks to Deborah Hart about her mother's remarkable life and the book Resilience: A story of persecution, escape, survival and triumph. 

11:45 Sports-chat with Sam Ackerman

The two hottest sporting teams in the country are separated by the Bombay hills and two extra (or fewer, depending how you look at it) players on the field. Commentator Sam Ackerman looks at how the Warriors and the Chiefs are turning heads and fortunes.

Music played in this show

Track: Red Right Hand
Artist; Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Time Played: 10.38

Track: Babies
Artist: Pulp
Time Played: 10:40