Nine To Noon for Wednesday 8 May 2024

 

09:05 Consumer warns payment method could void bank protections

Consumer NZ says use of popular payment method POLi may be causing customers to void their bank's terms and conditions. Investigative writer Ruairi O'Shea joins Kathryn to explain how.

09:20 Genesis looks to coal to shore up power supplies

Buying coal is back on Genesis Energy's agenda - it says it's necessary to ensure a backup of energy supply this winter and beyond amid a gas shortage. Genesis operates the Huntly power station, which provides back up in a dry year or when supply is running low. The generator - New Zealand's second largest - now says other electricity providers will have to pay for their back-up supplies via hedging contracts from next year. Kathryn speaks to RNZ business correspondent Gyles Beckford about the company's announcement.

09:30 Police confirm Ponsonby shooter found dead

 

Police have confirmed the man wanted in connection with the fatal Ponsonby Road shooting on Sunday evening, Hone Kay- Selwyn, has been found dead. RNZ reporter Maia Ingoe has been at a police media conference and joins Kathryn for an update.

09:35 Are record migrant remittances helping keep inflation in check?

The country's record net migration of 139, 000 new arrivals in the last year has raised concerns about the potential impact on consumer demand and the flow-on to inflation.  But a new report by Kiwibank economists presents a counter argument, pointing to a record level of remittances sent home by migrants. For the first time last year, those remitttances exceeded $1-billion, mostly to India, the Philippines and China. Kiwibank senior economist and co-author Mary Jo Vergara says the huge surge of migrants has not translated into a growth in consumption here, and a closer look at migrant priorities is illustrative.

09:45 Australia: Student loan relief, China flares, Bonza dramas

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton looks at $3b in relief for tertiary students in next week's federal Budget because of what had become an alarmingly steep indexation rate. Australia and China have clashed for a second time, with a Chinese aircraft firing flares just in front of, and above, an Australian military helicopter over the Yellow Sea. Administrators of the failed Australian airline Bonza have been told they can't stop the aircraft from leaving the country - they're also worried about the possibility of 20,000 creditors showing up to a meeting on Friday. And an oyster farmer in New South Wales may have the world's largest - a 3kg whopper called Jill. 

Karen Middleton is political editor of the Guardian Australia

10:05 Lost in translation: Daniel Hahn on interpreting literary works from other languages

Many of us will know the difficulties of travelling and being understood in countries where we don't speak the language. Now imagine taking a great work of literature and translating that - without losing the meaning, rhythm and the effect on the reader.  That skill of moving between language has been honed by British writer and translator Daniel Hahn. He's an award-winning literary translator who works in French, Spanish and Portuguese with over 100 books to his name. He's currently investigating how Shakespeare is translated around the world, and is on his way to the Auckland Writers Festival next week.

10:35 Book review: Study For Obedience by Sarah Bernstein 

Phil Vine reviews Study For Obedience by Sarah Bernstein published by Granta

10:45 Around the motu : Alisha Evans in Tauranga

Poor air quality in the seaside suburb of Mount Maunganui has forced the council to look at the future of industrial businesses in the area. Alisha explains why businesses in Tauranga’s CBD don’t want bus stops outside their doors. And a council animal services officer reflects on her 35 year career. Betty Hall is retiring from the Western Bay of Plenty District Council.

Western Bay of Plenty Local Democracy reporter Alisha Evans based in Tauranga with SunLive 

11:05 Music with Kirsten Zemke: Bossa nova 

Music commentator Kirsten Zemke looks at bossa nova, literally "new trend" in Portuguese. The wave of bossa nova renewed samba and contributed to a modernisation of Brazilian music. Kirsten breaks down the syncopation and discusses some of the themes running through bossa nova's most popular songs.

Kirsten Zemke is an ethnomusicologist at the University of Auckland's School of Social Sciences.

 

11:30 Explaining Otherhood - childless by choice or circumstance

More than 30 women have contributed to the book Otherhood. They write about not being a mother and dismantling the taboos and societal judgement around that and how it has affected them. It is an intensely personal collection of stories by essayists about their lives. Some of the women who write are child free by choice, others have struggled with infertility. Kathryn talks to the anthology's three editors, Alie Benge, Lil O'Brien and Kathryn van Beek, They've each contributed a chapter.

11:45 Personal finance: Should KiwiSaver be compulsory?

Money expert David Boyle joins Kathryn to talk about some holes in the argument to make KiwiSaver compulsory to ensure more people are equipped to fund their retirement. He says some discussion is needed about whether it would really help low income earners and others who seem to be on the wrong side of what KiwiSaver was intended to provide them in their later years.

David Boyle is a financial wellbeing commentator, formerly of Mint Asset Management and the Commission for Financial Capability.