Nine To Noon for Thursday 7 September 2023

 

 

09:05 OCR is on hold so why are home loan rates still rising?

The official cash rate hasn't be hiked since May so why are home loans still rising? Yesterday, ASB raised its one year mortgage rate to 7.45 per cent. ASB's two-year fixed rate went up to 7.05 percent - the highest in 14 years. Wholesale interest rates have remained stable since the Official Cash Rate was raised to 5.50% on the 24th of May. And yet all banks have continued to steadily raise their short term rates. The Commerce Commission is currently investigating the personal banking sector to assess the level of competition and the quality of services. David Cunningham, chief executive of mortgage broker Squirrel, and a former banker of 30 years, says it's simple: bank profits are up and consumers are paying the price.

09:20 Commerce Commission ranks telcos and broadband providers 

The Commerce Commission has released its inaugural mobile and broadband customer service rankings, focusing on how well each provider looks after customers when something goes wrong. It ranked Skinny as the current league leader, scoring well across almost all mobile and broadband areas, with its customers experiencing the fewest issues. One NZ, previously Vodafone NZ, ranked low across almost all measures, but did rate well for its speed in resolving broadband issues. The survey was prompted by ongoing, high levels of complaints about customer service. The Commerce Commission is encouraging companies to publish the dashboards on their website and to make them visible in retail stores. Kathryn speaks to Tristan Gilbertson, the Commerce Commission's telecommunications commissioner and Craig Young, chief executive of the Tech Users Association, a non-for-profit that advocates for positive change on behalf of telecommunications users.

09:30 Marathon with meaning: Otago students run for friends lost to suicide

A group of 33 Otago students are running the Dunedin marathon on Sunday, in support of men's mental health. The Heavy Breathers had all had some brush with mental health whether personally, or through friends or family, and hoped to raise $10,000 for the mental health charity #sparkthatchat. Then one of the group, George Murray, lost his big brother, Thomas, to suicide, just a few weeks ago. This has brought the Heavy Breathers together around their goal in a way they couldn't have imagined. So far they've reached $80,000 have attracted sponsors,  and a large following on social media, where each of the group has shared why they've signed up. Kathryn speaks with George Murry and Will Saunders from The Heavy Breathers, and  Jack Jensen, founder of #sparkthatchat.

09:45 UK correspondent Matt Dathan

Matt Dathan joins Kathryn Ryan from the United Kingdom, where a suspected terrorist accused of working for a hostile state has escaped from one of Britain's oldest and most notorious prisons. Daniel Abed Khalife fled in dramatic style, by clinging to the bottom of a food delivery van. Also making headlines is Birmingham - the second largest city - effectively declaring itself bankrupt, as well as a reshuffle for the Labour Party.

Matt Dathan is Home Affairs Editor at The Times

10:05 Dr Chandrika Nath: Scientific research in the halls of power and at the poles

Scientific research has taken Dr Chandrika Nath from pole to pole. As a glaciologist she has worked in Lapland and Antarctica, spending 100 days in the latter collecting data samples in extreme isolation. The frigid, but tangible research, was an escape from the lab and her life as a particle physicist dealing with computer generated simulations. Four years later, she traded one harsh environment for another - becoming a scientific advisor to parliamentary policymakers but is now back at the poles as the executive director of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, the organisation supporting international collaboration in Antarctica. She speaks to Kathryn. 

10:35 Book review: House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng

Ralph Mcallister reviews House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng published by Canongate

10:45 Around the motu : Flynn Nicholls in Wairarapa

NZTA has finished building physical safety improvements between Masterton and Carterton. There’s a new wire median barrier and three roundabouts. Flynn says locals have been campaigning for the roundabouts to be built for decades. There’s still some debate on what the speed limit should be. And Kiwirail is upgrading all 30 railway level crossings in Wairarapa, in advance of new faster trains coming to the region. Also the GP shortage in Wairarapa means that all three medical centres in Masterton are not taking any new patients.

Flynn Nicholls is a reporter at the Wairarapa Times-Age

11:05 Technology with Peter Griffin

Google has just celebrated its 25th birthday. The hit search engine allowed it to innovate with Gmail, Maps and Google Cloud. Peter Griffin discusses the future of the $1.7 trillion dollar company as artificial intelligence advances. And Apple launches its iPhone 15 next week, which will likely feature a new charging port. Peter explains why it is reluctantly moving away from its usual charging cable.

Peter Griffin is a Wellington-based science and technology journalist

11:25 Parenting : language development of pre-schoolers

Speech and language therapist Christian Wright talks to Kathryn about what parents can do to stimulate pre-schoolers language development. We'll also look at how to identify when there might be delays in development.

11:45 Screentime: The New Boy, Welcome to Wrexham s2, Miriam and Alan

Film and TV reviewer James Croot joins Kathryn to talk about a new Australian film called The New Boy, starring Cate Blanchett as a nun working in a remote outback monastery who encounters a young Aboriginal boy with unusual powers. He'll also profile the new season of Welcome to Wrexham and Miriam and Alan: Lost in Scotland and Beyond which sees actors Miriam Margolyes and Alan Cumming hit the road again. 

James Croot is Stuff's Stuff to Watch editor