Nine To Noon for Wednesday 1 April 2020

 

09:05 Modelling the Covid-19 virus

We now know what a worst-case scenario of a rampant Covid-19 outbreak in New Zealand could look like - and it is devastating. The government yesterday released six modelling reports it's been provided with over the past month that project what could happen here if the current virus eradication strategy fails. In a paper delivered to the government on March 24, it found a total of 3.32 million Kiwis could get sick, 146,000 would need hospital care and 27,600 could die. Professor Nick Wilson from Otago University helped prepare the reports and joins Kathryn to talk about the modelling.

09:20 Covid-19: Pharmacists feeling financial strain

Pharmacists say their retail reliant business model, is coming under strain during the Covid-19 lockdown, adding to the stress of an already tired and overloaded work-force. Safety, viability pressures and meeting customer needs in a rapidly changing environment are among their top concerns. Pharmacy Guild Chief Executive Andrew Gaudin and Ian McMichael President of the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand join Kathryn Ryan.

09:30 Immigration Minister outlines visa changes to help ease workforce shortages

The government is moving to relax visa requirements for migrant workers to help ease workforce shortages in certain sectors. But the aged care sector says the changes need to go further.Those on temporary work, student, visitor, interim and limited visas have had an extension til September 25. Those already working in supermarkets will be allowed to work on different roles, and to work longer hours without adjusting their visa. In the health sector,  migrant workers in the healthcare and aged care sectors who were subject to a stand down period this year, will now be able to continue working here for another year. Students working in the healthcare and aged care sectors part-time will also be able to work full time for 3 months. Kathryn speaks with the Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway and the Aged Care Association's CEO Simon Wallace.

09:40 Zoom. A national security threat?

Security fears are being raised about cabinet meetings being conducted on zoom and the threat they pose to national security. IT security expert Daniel Ayres, says the biggest worry is the lack of sufficient encryption, meaning and that Zoom employees could  quietly observe the virtual meetings, which would also make Zoom itself a target for hostile actors. Earlier this week British Ministry of Defence staff were told that the use of Zoom was being suspended with immediate effect while "security implications" were investigated. However the UK Cabinet still uses Zoom, and has in the last few hours insisted that Zoom is secure.

09:45 Australia spends $200b on economic welfare during Covid

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton joins Kathryn to talk about Prime Minister Scott Morrison's spending programme to help get Australia through the Covid crisis - and how a new unemployment payment will be available to Kiwis on the subclass 444 working visa. So far the country has had more than 4500 cases of Covid and 19 deaths.

10:05 5700 approach ANZ for homeloan help

5700 ANZ homeloan customers have contacted the bank seeking assistance with repaying their mortgage. Last week the Government announced an agreement with the banks to offer up to six months deferral on home loans, and banks began taking applications from last Friday afternoon. Nine to Noon has approached the heads of all the big banks to tell us what they're doing to help their customers through the disruption caused by the virus outbreak and Kathryn is joined this morning by Antonia Watson, CEO of ANZ. 

10:15 Photographing Queensland. Gary Cranitch

Gary Cranitch has spent nearly four decades photographing creatures great and small in Queensland. Based at Queensland Museum, he has a passion for underwater photography and in particular the Great Barrier Reef which he has documented over many years. Last year his extraordinary image of coral spawning on the reef near Heron Island off the central Queensland coast won a gold award in the Nature category at the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP) awards.

10:35 Book review - Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

Carole Beu of the Women's Bookshop reviews Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell, published by Headline Publishing Group.

10:45 The Reading

Goneville, episode 3. Written and read by Nick Bollinger.

11:05 Music With Graeme Downes

Graeme joins Kathryn to talk about The Who - and songs from their The Kids are Alright album.

Graeme Downes is a musicologist and senior lecturer in the Department of Music at the University of Otago.

11:20 A history of Scott Base's early years

Don Webster knows a little bit about isolation and how to handle it, he spent a summer and winter in the 1960s in Antarctica, working as a technician at Scott Base. He's now published a book called Scott Base Antarctica: The Early Years, which is jam-packed with photographs and research about how the base was set up and how it evolved over time. He joins Kathryn to share details of what life was like on the ice while "wintering over" - when night lasted all day.

11:45 What's the legal basis for the lockdown?

Dr Dean Knight joins Kathryn to talk about the remarkable suit of legal powers the government has deployed during the coronavirus crisis. What are some of the rule-of-law implications?

Dr Dean Knight is an associate professor at the faculty of law at Victoria University Wellington.