Nine To Noon for Thursday 8 April 2021

 

 

09:05 Could travel bubble cause skills spill to Australia?

The Trans-Tasman bubble could risk skilled engineering and allied professionals leaving for Australia, deepening the shortage here, and making it harder to complete large infrastructure projects, according to the Association of Consulting and Engineering New Zealand. ACE New Zealand represents over two hundred consulting and engineering firms employing approximately 13,500 staff. It's just surveyed members about staffing needs, and found that the sector needs 2100 staff to meet current and future needs - and 460 of these are overseas based specialists. Chief Executive of ACE New Zealand, Helen Davidson, says the travel bubble with Australia has the potential to make thing much harder. She speaks with Kathryn along with Fletcher Construction Chief Executive Peter Reidy, who is also the chair of the industry leaders' group, set up to work with government on these issues.

09:20 Developing AI technology to screen diabetes patients for visual impairment and blindness

An Auckland ophthalmologist is leading the charge to save the eyesight of New Zealand diabetes patients through the development of AI technology. Dr David Squirrell and his team at Toku Eyes have developed artificial intelligence software to help screen for diabetic retinopathy and prevent visual impairment and irreversible sight loss. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in working age adults, but 40 percent of diabetic patients in New Zealand are still not being screened for diabetic retinopathy. Toku Eyes hopes to encourage more people to get screened by making the process faster, more accessible, and even more accurate. Kathryn Ryan speaks with Dr David Squirrell, chair of the Northern Region Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Governance Committee. 

09:45 AstraZeneca vaccine banned in UK under-30s

UK correspondent Harriet Line looks in depth at the decision to offer under30s a different Covid-19 vaccine to the AstraZeneca one that has been linked to an increased risk of blood clots. Meanwhile there's ongoing debate about the role of vaccine passports in reopening the economy.

10:05 Charlotte Grimshaw -  a memoir 

Auckland novelist Charlotte Grimshaw speaks to Kathryn about her revealing new memoir, The Mirror Book - which is an unflinching and deeply personal account of growing up in one of New Zealand's best known literary families.

10:35 Book Review - The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson

Quentin Johnson reviews The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson, published by Penguin Random House   

10:45 The Reading

Part seven of 'The Party Line' by Sue Orr.

11:05 Media company hacked, Facebook users' data leaked

Technology correspondent Tony Grasso joins Kathryn to talk about the cyber attack that knocked Nine Entertainment, owner of the Sydney Morning Herald, off air and offline. Meanwhile the details of half a billion Facebook users have been exposed, North Korea is using cyber attacks as a way to get around sanctions and finance its weapons programs. But there's some good news over a water treatment plant that was hacked and put at risk...

Tony Grasso is Principal Consultant at cybersecurity firm TitaniumDefence. He worked at GCHQ in the UK and is a former Intelligence Officer in New Zealand.

11:25 Literacy expert Carla McNeil on the new phonics books in schools

As the school year cranks up in earnest, some parents might be noticing their kids aren't doing so well at the basics. Carla is the director of Learning Matters, an organisation that helps parents and teachers to support children who experience dyslexia. She joins Kathryn to talk about how parents can support their children as they learn to read, write and spell. She'll also talk about the new Ready to Read Phonics books that are being introduced to schools.

11:45 New Zealand Today, Nobody, Seaspiracy, Them

Film and TV reviewer Chris Schulz joins Kathryn to look at the new season of Guy Williams' New Zealand Today, American action thriller Nobody, fishing documentary Seaspiracy and horror/thriller set in the 1950s, Them.

Music played in this show

 

Artist: Cleo Sol

Track: Rose in the Dark

Broadcast time: 09:31

 

Artist: Chicano Batman

Track: Color My Life

Broadcast time: 11:26