Nine To Noon for Tuesday 7 May 2024

09:05 Westpac CEO on tough times for customers and combatting scams

Westpac bank says many households and businesses are struggling with high interest rates and costs and the coming months will be challenging. Westpac yesterday reported a $477 million net profit for the first half year - up 11 per cent - but lower than the previous six months. Westpac Chief Executive, Catherine McGrath,  says a sluggish economy, weakness among key trading partners such as China and a tense geopolitical environment are all contributing to uncertainty across the economy. Westpac has been contacting 51,000 home loan customers due to refix at higher interest rates, as well as more than 18,000 customers it has identified as at most risk of financial stress. Catherine McGrath says the bank is also focussed on the growing issue of scams and fraud, which cost victims across the sector $200 million last year. She says confirmation of payee technology will be rolled out later this year which will help prevent losses.

09:25 Coastal shipping at an impasse 

Coastal shipping was seen as a saviour after Cyclone Gabrielle, but Government backing for the sector has cooled. The Government subsidised a coastal shipping route between Napier and Gisborne after the cyclone washed out roads connecting the two centres. That followed a $30 million contestable fund Waka Kotahi doled out in 2022 to coastal shippers to help co-fund more ships. But the coastal shipping sector is at an impasse; a new Government is in and there is no sign of further support like what was received in 2022. Coastal shippers can move more freight per unit of fuel required - meaning lower emissions than trucking and less wear on the roads. Despite that trucks move more than 90 percent of freight in New Zealand. Alistair Skingley is country manager for Swire Shipping - a Singapore company that runs two container ships between Auckland and Christchuch. John Harbord is executive director of the Shipping Federation.

09:35 Insurance Q & A with Karen Stevens

It can be an awkward dance for policyholders to know what insurers need to know. But can a person go back and check their insurance disclosures from years earlier? Is there any oversight that can explain why insurance premiums go up and whether that is justified? Those questions and more answered by Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman Karen Stevens.

09:45 USA correspondent Ron Elving

Ron looks at the wave of university campus protests across the US, as students rally against Israel's war on Gaza. And the Democrats fear the conflict will have divisive and lasting effects on their coalition, with the election now only six months away. Donald Trump spent the weekend considering his running mate, ahead of another week in the courtroom.

Ron Elving is a Senior Editor and Correspondent, Washington Desk for NPR news.

10:05 Ballerina, author & comedian Sacha Jones on The Fatter Sex

Sacha Jones was sent off to ballet at the age of six on a recommendation from a doctor to help with her asthma - and her weight. Ballet might have helped the asthma, but it didn't help how she felt about her weight. By the time she was 16 she was a soloist with the Sydney City Ballet, but had been relying on laxatives and bulimia to keep herself slim. When her ballet career came to an end, an unhealthy obsession with diet and body size continued. Sacha had three children, obtained a PhD in political theory - but bulimia returned in her 40s. She talks about this in her new book The Fatter Sex, an honest and insightful exploration of the pressures women face over their weight. The book explores whether in trying to get away from the thin ideal, the body positive movement has pushed too far in the other direction

10:35 Book review: Hagstone by Sinéad Gleeson 

Kiran Dass reviews Hagstone by Sinéad Gleeson published by Fourth Estate

10:45 Around the motu: Georgina Campbell in Wellington

Wellington business owner Nicola Cranfield is closing her shop after 33 years and alleges Green MP Julie Anne Genter grabbed her arm during a conversation about banning cars from heart of the city. The Government has asked NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi officials to investigate a mega tunnel underneath Wellington from The Terrace to Kilbirnie. And with the Reading Cinema deal dead, Georgina discusses what it means for the mayor and the mayoralty. 

Georgina Campbell is the NZ Herald's Wellington issues reporter.

11:05 Business commentator Victoria Young

Victoria crunches the numbers as Westpac and BNZ post their six-month results, with other major banks expected to follow. And trouble is brewing among the board of the usually secretive Dairy Goat Co-Operative. And the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) is closing its Climate Change Impact Fund, saying the scheme is now largely redundant.

BusinessDesk editor, Victoria Young

11:30 Hemingway's life reimagined in Auckland lawyer's new novel

 It's nearly 63 years since American novelist Ernest Hemingway died, yet his work - and his life - continue to fascinate. It's the subject of Dermot Ross's debut novel Hemingway's Goblet, - about a London-based lawyer called Nick Harrieson who discovers his grandfather had not only met the writer but may have inspired him. It comes as Nick's career as a law lecturer at a prestigious university hangs in the balance over his relationship with a student. The book explores relationships in the #MeToo era, with a look to Hemingway's reputation as a heavy drinker and womaniser. Dermot has worked as a corporate lawyer for 40 years, but had always wanted to write a novel. This one took him to the places Hemingway frequented in Spain. 

11:45 Sports chat with Sam Ackerman

Music played in this show

Artist:   Vera Ellen
Song: Crack the Whip
Time: 11:25