Nine To Noon for Wednesday 13 September 2023

 

09:05 The nation's books are open and there are some ugly numbers to navigate

The nation's books have been opened - and while there is no forecast recession, and and inflation is expected to dip below 3 percent by December 2024, there are some ugly numbers in front of us. Tax revenue is $2.9 billion less than forecast, the deficit is $3 billion more than anticipated, and the pre-election update warns if operational spending in next year's Budget increases by a billion dollars more than planned, the deficit will not switch back to surplus over the ten-year projected period. Unemployment will rise to a peak of 5.4 per cent by 2025, while annual migration is forecast to be 33,000 more than forecast at 100,000. Kathryn talks to BNZ Head of Research Stephen Toplis and Infometrics Principal Economist Brad Olsen about how this impacts the incoming government's options.

09:30 Young inventors addressing inequalities in NZ

From a urine testing kit for elite athletes, to a washer-dryer that requires no electricity ; and a specialised face shield to protect doctors from radiation. We meet three young inventors, finalists in the annual James Dyson Award. It's an international design contest that challenges young engineers to create a solution to a problem. It's open to university level students or recent graduates. Nick Holland is a 22 year old Industrial designer from Wellington, and the National Winner of the 2023 James Dyson Award. His invention is a more user friendly urine drug testing kit. Finalists, Joshua Unwin, invented a sustainable solution for washing and drying clothes, that requires no electricity. And Oliver Mortimer, has designed a head mask protecting physicians from exposure to ionizing radiation. All three will now all go on to be considered for spot in the coveted global top 20.

09:45 Australia correspondent Karen Middleton 

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton joins Kathryn ahead of a High Court decision on whether Qantas acted lawfully when it sacked 1700 workers during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and replaced them with outsourced casual workers. The airline argues it needed the flexibility, but the Transport Workers Union claims it was another move in Qantas' recent history of trying to ward off union strike action. Also, a new tourism campaign aiming to entice international tourists sees more than a 100% boost in Chinese visitors, month on month. China is now the second alrgest sourtce of inbound tourists after New Zealand.

Karen Middleton is chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper.

10:05 Booker prize winning Irish novelist Anne Enright

Anne Enright is the multi award winning Irish author of seven novels, collections of short stories,  a non-fiction work about the birth of her two children, and she was the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction.  The Gathering, won the Booker Prize in 2007 -  about a woman trying to make sense of her brother's suicide as the large, dysfunctional family gather for his funeral. Anne Enright's latest book also shines a strong light on family relationships. In The Wren,The Wren, a famous Irish poet leaves his wife and two daughters - that abandonment rippling through the life of one of his  daughters, and in turn, her daughter. The book has won high praise -  fellow Irish writer Sally Rooney, author of Normal People, calls it "magnificent", while The Times calls Enright "one of our greatest living novelists". She speaks with Kathryn Ryan from her home in Dublin.

10:35 Book review: A Better Place

Kim Pittar reviews A Better Place by Stephen Daisley published by Penguin Random House 

10:45 Around the motu: Tim Brown in Dunedin

RNZ Otago-Southland reporter Tim Brown is in Dunedin, where deputy mayor Sophie Barker has recently resigned, citing difficulties working with mayor Jules Radich. And big changes for Gore District Council too, with CEO Stephen Parry resigning after highly-publicised fallout with mayor Ben Bell. Tim also looks at the latest on the controversial Tarras Airport proposal.

11:05 Music With Dave Wilson

This Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori, Dave Wilson looks at the role music plays in language revitalisation, outside of Aotearoa. 

Dave Wilson is musician, composer, and ethnomusicologist, a senior lecturer at the New Zealand School of Music at Victoria University of Wellington

11:30 Maths video tutorials a hit with NCEA students 

Auckland maths teacher Subash Chandar K has a slightly larger classroom than most teachers, reaching tens of thousands of NCEA-level students with his maths video tutorials. He livestreams on YouTube from his lounge at night, showing how to solve maths problems, as well as going though practice NCEA exams, step-by-step.  He's been making the videos for 10 years, and now has over 35,000 subscribers to his 'Infinity Plus One' channel, and last year had one million views of his videos. Subash Chandar K is a teacher at Ormiston Junior College in Auckland.  

11:45  How teaching scarcity improves financial resilience

How can we teach children to be financially capable, and whose responsiblity is it? Labour has a plan to require financial literacy to be taught in schools. Mint Asset Management's David Boyle, formerly with the Commission for Financial Capability, argues education must first begin at home. He says parents who help their children understand scarcity are doing them a favour in the long term.