Nine To Noon for Monday 20 September 2021

 

 

09:05 Carbon farming - "biggest change in land use"

Concerns the boom in carbon farming will dictate the future of New Zealand's sheep, beef and production forestry, and questions over who has oversight over what one academic is calling "the biggest change in land use in New Zealand's modern history".  Kathryn speaks with Professor of Farm Management and Agribusiness at Lincoln University Keith Woodford, who says the implications are massive.  Also Forest Owners Association chief executive Phil Taylor, also managing director of the American owned forestry management company Port Blakely.

09:20 Kiwi company Pictor seeks volunteers for antibody test trial

 A New Zealand biotech company hopes results from a clinical trial it plans to run in Auckland could ultimately reduce the need for MIQ and limit vaccine wastage around the world. Auckland-based Pictor Limited is seeking 300 volunteers for a trial of its COVID-19 IgG antibody test, which can determine whether someone has a Covid spike protein, indicating they've been vaccinated, or whether they have both the spike AND nucleocapsid proteins, which indicates they've previously been infected with Covid. The company says the test could be used to identify people at the border who are less of a risk and might not need 14 days isolation. Kathryn is joined by Pictor's US-based consulting chief medical officer Tadd Lazarus. 

Anyone wanting more information about participating in the Auckland trial should email Howard Moore at h.moore@pictordx.com.

 

09:45 Europe correspondent Seamus Kearney

AUKUS is causing anger & soul-searching in EU. Seamus says it's  a diplomatic row that's unprecedented in modern times, with France recalling its ambassadors from the US and Australia. There's been angry reaction in Paris and Brussels after the announcement of a new trilateral security pact between the US, the UK and Australia took them by surprise, with claims of not being consulted. And in Germany, a week out from the election, pressure is mounting on the man hoping to succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor of Germany.
 

10:05 Hone Smythe: the healing power of horses

Hone Smythe runs Horsemtrails from the small town of Owhango in the foothills of Ruapehu and Tongariro. He has ridden and trained horses for most of his life and knows the local region like the back of his hand. More recently, he's begun to explore the power of equine therapy for people struggling with their mental health.  Hone is well aware of the healing nature of horses, which have guided him through his own ups and downs in life. He's now putting his life experience behind a new project, working with prisoners at Tongariro prison, and he's hoping one day that can involve inmates working with local Kaimanawa horses. 

10:35 Book review: The Silence Of Scheherazade by Defne Suman, translated by Betsy Göksel

Laura Caygill reviews The Silence Of Scheherazade by Defne Suman, translated by Betsy Göksel and published by Head of Zeus.

Laura says it's a "whirlwind of lives and loves in the last years of the Turkish city of Smyrna, before the Great Fire of 1922."

10:45 The Reading

Matthew O'Sullivan's 'Head In The Clouds' read by Grant Tilly.

11:05 Political commentators Te Pou & Thomas

Amid lockdown fatigue in Tamaki Makaurau, business pain and three Covid cases in Waikato all eyes are on today's big decision over Auckland's alert level. Ben, Shane and Kathryn also look at AUKUS, the security arrangement that New Zealand is not part of, and more rumblings about the National Party leadership.

Shane Te Pou is a former candidate, campaign manager and executive member of the Labour Party, and a former union official. He is no longer a member of any political party. He is a Director and HR Manager for IT Company Mega.

Ben Thomas is a PR consultant and a former National Government press secretary.

11:30 Home grown and pressed oat milk 

Oat milk has become extremely popular in Aotearoa. At the start of this year cafe owners reported that they were running out of oat milk due to its popularity at barista counters across the country. The supply line is stretched, and it's not helped by the fact that a lot of oat milk has to be brought in from overseas. It's a problem that Morgan Maw and her company Boring Oat Milk are trying to solve. 

11:45 Urban issues - why developers prefer green field sprawl.

Bill McKay talks to Kathryn about the myth of lack of land. He says sprawl is a problem in big cities and small towns, whether it is new suburbs or big box commercial developments on the outskirts. Developers and some politicians regularly call on Councils to "free up" more land for development. The reason for this is that all Councils have city or district plans that zone land and the use / activity that can take place on it eg rural or commercial or housing.

Bill McKay is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland.