Nine To Noon for Wednesday 29 September 2021

 

09:05 Vaccine passports in time for summer music festivals

Summer music festivals are gearing up to add checking vaccine passports to the list of requirements for admission to large events. Yesterday Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson announced that work on a vaccine passport app was underway and would be ready in just over a month. However it's still a nail-biting wait for festival organisers as the summer season draws nearer, with most of the country still at alert level two. Under level two restrictions, events can only have a maximum of 100 people in an indoor or outdoor space. Further complicating the concert and festival circuit is the country's MIQ system, which makes it difficult to bring in top billing international acts. Kathryn speaks to Hamish Pinkham, co-founder and director of Rhythm and Vines, Rhythm and Alps, and this summer is launching a new series of festivals called Golden Sounds. She also speaks to Mark Kneebone, the managing director of Live Nation, the entertainment company bringing some big names to New Zealand shores next year, including Rod Stewart, Dua Lipa, Harry Styles and Stormzy. 

09:30 Thousands with fetal alcohol syndrome denied support: report

Thousands of people each year with fetal alcohol syndrome are being denied access to support because they do not fit an arbitrary measure of disability,  according to a damning new report. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder, or FASD, is a neurodisability caused by drinking during pregnancy, and each year between 1800 and 3000 babies are born with the disorder.  The report from the Disability Rights Commissioner and Children's Commissioner says people with an FASD diagnosis alone can't access Disability Support Services, despite meeting the definition of disability and this is a breach of their human rights. The Commissioners say successive governments have "shamefully" fallen short of their obligations, and the situation is as an "appalling abdication of government responsibility for a significant group of children". Kathryn speaks with Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero.

09:45 Australia: Lockdowns ease, risk to NRL, Moulin Rouge D'Australie

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton joins Kathryn to look at how vaccination rates are rising, leading to hopes of a road out of lockdown and the expectation the Prime Minister will announce the reopening of international borders this summer. Four new cases in Queensland have thrown Sunday's NRL grand final into doubt, with the possibility of it being moved to Townsville. Scott Morrison still hasn't decided if he'll attend the next UN COP meeting in Glasgow in a few weeks' time, meanwhile a lot of Australian defence manufacturers are worried about the implications of an abrupt cancelling of the $90b submarine contract. And finally, Australia is celebrating its local link to this week's Tony Awards with the smash success of the Broadway version of Moulin Rouge - by Australian producers Gerry Ryan and Carmen Pavlovic.

10:05 Wildlife documentary producer John Ruthven

John Ruthven's book, The Whale in the Living Room tells of his  expeditions and adventures during decades of documentary making about the mysteries of the ocean. John has worked on the BBC's Blue Planet and Blue Planet II nature series presented by David Attenborough. John Ruthven's other ocean films include episodes of Discovery Shark Week, and expedition films for National Geographic.

10:35 Book review:  Conversātiō: In the company of bees by Anne Noble with Zara Stanhope and Anna Brown

David Hill reviews Conversātiō: In the company of bees by Anne Noble with Zara Stanhope and Anna Brown, published by Massey University Press   

10:40 National party's reopening plan

The National Party is proposing opening up the borders under a traffic light system once at least 85 percent of the country's eligible population are vaccinated.  National has today released its plan to avoid nationwide lockdowns and make it easier for most fully vaccinated people to travel to and from New Zealand. RNZ political reporter, Charlie Dreaver.

10:45 The Reading

Dinner at My Place by Tsitsi Mapepa, from Page Numbers 2021 - a collection of new short stories from MA writing graduates of  VUW and Auckland University.

11:05 Oranga Tamariki "not fit for purpose" : review

Oranga Tamariki has been described as not fit for purpose and needing  transformative change.  A Ministerial advisory panel has just released its report into the agency and made three over-arching recommendations. The review was part of the government's response to widespread criticism of Oranga Tamariki's policy of removing vulnerable children from their families. Kathryn speaks with RNZ's Maori News Director, Mani Dunlop.

11:05 Music with Yadana Saw

As Aotearoa gradually reemerges from Covid restrictions Yadana Saw shares some of upcoming tours and live gigs that music fans can get to. 

11:20 Food fight: Oakley Inkersell

Four year 13 business studies students from Cashmere High School have created an educational card game, under the Young Enterprise Scheme, to help combat childhood obesity. The game's called Food Fight.  It's a deck of 52 cards featuring the nutritional values of classic Kiwi foods. It's a bit like Top Trumps, and teaches children about nutrition. Food Fight is inspired by one of the group, Oakley Inkersell, who tells Kathryn Ryan he struggled with his weight when he was younger.

11:45 Media liability for defamatory third party comments online

Defamation law expert Ursula Cheer looks at an Australian High Court ruling that found media are liable for comments people post on their social media pages and contrasts it with a similar Court of Appeal case here. 

Ursula Cheer is a professor of Law at the University of Canterbury

Music played in this show

Track:    Carry On
Artist:    Mel Parsons
Broadcast time: 09:31

Track:  Paradiso
Artist:   Elend Oye and La Comitiva
Broadcast time: 10:42