Nine To Noon for Tuesday 28 May 2019

 

 

09:05 South Westland cleanup: will govt do more?

Work to clean up rubbish contamination in South Westland is being stopped because the Westland District Council says it can't afford to continue it. It's eight weeks since the Fox River landfill spilled its contents during major flooding, which also washed out roads and bridges. The Westland District Council has spent over a million dollars on the clean up and rebuild, but from Friday, contractors cleaning up the Fox River have been told to stop. The mayor, Bruce Smith, says Council has requested more money from Government but for now, it cannot afford to do more.

Meanwhile volunteers collecting rubbish along the river and coast say they don't have enough resources and the clean up should be taken just as seriously as the 2011 Rena oil spill in the Bay of Plenty. Kathryn talks with Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage and Kelsey Porter, coastal clean-up coordinator and glacier guide.

09:25 More teacher walkouts announced

Parents are gearing up for a nationwide primary and secondary teacher strike tomorrow. The Secondary Teachers Union has just announced a range of further industrial action over the next 5 weeks. RNZ's Education correspondent is John Gerittsen.

09:35 Intense grief, when a friend dies

A new study has found that the death of a close friend can affect wellbeing for years. The Australian National University study's lead author, Dr Raymond Liu says the trauma can linger four times longer than previously believed. He says those grieving can suffer significant declines in physical health, mental health, emotional stability and social life.

09:30  Focus on disability: Jobs for everyone

Kathryn meets Cesilee Coulson, Executive Director of GoWise Seattle, the NGO in Washington State which has helped get over 80 per cent of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities into work.  New Zealand's rate is around 15 per cent.  At the centre of the Seattle model is the concept of "employment first" which asserts the rights of all disabled people to be able to be in paid employment in the regular labour market.

09:45 US-Japan trade dispute & calls to impeach Trump 

From the US, Washington bureau chief of The Guardian, David Smith talks to Kathryn about little sign of change in the US-Japan trade dispute, during Donald Trump's trip to Tokyo. This despite sumo wrestling, gifts for the new Emperor and golf with the Prime Minister. Stateside, there is a growing chorus of Democrats calling for the President's impeachment, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is resisting, not least because it could inadvertently boost Trump's reelection chances. 

10:05 Future cities thought leader, NZ architect Mark Burry

Mark Burry is a New Zealand architect, based in Melbourne whose expertise is sought around the world. Professor Burry is recognised internationally as a thought leader and researcher in the domain of future cities.He is the founding director of the Smart Cities Research Institute of Melbourne's Swinburne University of Technology. From 1979 to 2016 he was the the senior architect and researcher at the Sagrada Família Basilica Barcelona. Last year he was recognised in Australia Day Honours list for distinguishing service to spatial information architecture - this in recognition for his work as a researcher, academic and author and as an innovator. With the fire at Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral last month, Professor Burry also has thoughts on the rebuild options.

10:35 NZ Books review - Room for a Stranger by Melanie Cheng

Catriona Ferguson reviews Room for a Stranger by Melanie Cheng, which is published by Text Publishing.

10:45 The Reading

The Quince Café by Sue Francis read by Sarah Peirse. Episode 2 of 5. 
No webrights.

11:05 What to make of National's budget "leak"

National has revealed what it says are significant parts of Thursday's Budget but won't confirm if it was a deliberate government leak. It appears to detail spending in 18 areas for the next financial year, including defence, forestry, District Health Boards, and overseas aid. RNZ's Political Editor Jane Patterson says if true it could be a major breach.

11:05 Criticism of Reserve Bank, Fonterra review Chinese farms

Business commentator Rod Oram says banks are critical of the RBNZ in their submissions on its capital proposals.  Fonterra is reviewing the future of its Chinese farms and its Brazilian joint venture. Also, the Australian parent company of Vocus, our 3rd largest telecoms' company, receives a $3.5bn takeover offer, and Zespri notches up $3 billion of sales and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare $1 billion
 
 11:30 Teen tramper: Maddy Whitaker  

After she finished university last year, while many of her friends headed for the beach,  Maddy Whitaker set off to walk the length of the South Island on the Te Araroa trail. Then 17, Maddy had won an expedition scholarship from the Federated Mountain Clubs, and decided to set out on the 1400 kilometre journey over 80 days.  As well as an epic experience, she also used the expedition as a means of raising funds for disadvantaged youth to participate in Outward Bound programmes.

11:45 Pike River reporting, impact on families

Media commentator Gavin Ellis and Kathryn discuss a study by two VUW law professors if the impact of reporting on the families of Pike River mine disaster victims, which makes damning reading. Also a publicly-funded group of journalists is to be recruited to fill gaps in local government reporting deserted by mainstream media, and former political editor, Tracy Watkins has been appointed editor of the Sunday Star Times.

Gavin Ellis is a media commentator and former editor of the New Zealand Herald.  He can be contacted on gavin.ellis@xtra.co.nz