Nine To Noon for Thursday 2 December 2021

 

 

09:05 Warnings house and contents insurance overpriced

New Zealanders are paying too much for house and contents insurance, according to a new survey.  Consumer NZ's price comparison survey shows climate and natural hazard risk is being factored in, and is more expensive than ever. Quotes for a large house differed by more than $3,000 across Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, and there's a more than $2,000 difference between the cheapest and most expensive policies on offer for a standard-sized house.  If you live somewhere with a higher chance of earthquakes - such as Wellington or Christchurch - you'll be charged more for insurance.  The cost of house and contents insurance has risen by 5.6% this year, over the past ten years it's gone up 150%.  Kathryn is joined by Consumer NZ's Gemma Rasmussen and Katrina Shanks Chief Executive of Financial Advice New Zealand, which represents independent and professional financial advisors.

09:30 New "anti-troll" law in Australia won't curb cyberbullying: academic

A new "anti-troll" law in Australia will hold social media platforms liable for hurtful comments on their websites.
The law will define the social media companies like Facebook and Instagram as the publisher of the comments which will allow them to be targeted for defamation claims.If a claim goes to court, the platform will be required to "unmask" a troll - providing an email address, phone number or relevant personal detail. But criticis question whether the changes will help curb rates of online bullying. Kathryn speaks with Jennifer Beckett, Lecturer in Media and Communications, at the University of Melbourne.

09:45 UK: More Omicron cases, Brexit rows over migration, three-day pub fest

UK correspondent Hugo Gye joins Kathryn to look at how cases of the Omicron variant are on the rise as the British government looks to speed up its booster campaign. The UK and France are still at loggerheads over how to stop dangerous and illegal crossings of the English Channel in small boats. Labour's had a reshuffle, with leader Keir Starmer appointing a new top team with more veterans from the era of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. And lucky pub patrons in Yorkshire were locked in for three days during a snowstorm.

10:05 Gilded: Marissa Meyer's reimagining of Rumpelstiltskin

American author Marissa Meyer has spent much of the past decade reimagining the classic fairy stories we think we know so well, and turning them into smash hits. Her first novel, Cinder, became a New York Times bestseller, and she followed it up with three more installments in her Lunar Chronicles series. Then came an Alice in Wonderland prequel - Heartless; her own superhero series, Renegades; and last year she released Instant Karma, which is being adapted for TV by HBO. Marissa spins a new take on Rumpelstiltskin in Gilded - giving the "miller's daughter" from the original tale a name and quite a backstory. She joins Kathryn from Washington state to talk about her love of fantasy writing.  

10:35 Book review: Orwell's Roses by Rebecca Solnit

Jenna Todd from Time Out Bookstore reviews Orwell's Roses by Rebecca Solnit, published by Penguin Random House

10:45 The Reading

'Men Behaving Sadly' by David Hill offers fictional portraits of five Kiwi blokes.. .In today's story 'Local Idol ' a small-town boy grows up to appreciate the values of a personal hero. 

11:05 Hottest tech for 2022, facial recognition AI breach, 2degrees tests 5G

Technology commentator Dr Mahsa Mohaghegh joins Kathryn to look at where tech is set to head in 2022, and how working from home in the pandemic has driven a rapid digital transformation in many businesses. She'll also talk about AI in facial recognition tools and the resultant privacy concerns, particularly in the wake of the big fine in the UK for Clearview AI. And 2degrees switched on 5G for some customers this week, what smart city features will it enable?

11:25 Parenting - providing youth-specific mental health support

As youth mental health issues escalate here and globally, a clinical psychologist says it's imperative to listen young people about what services would best help them. Kerry Gibson is an Associate Professor from the University of Auckland and has done extensive research on the matter, including asking young people where they'd like to go for support. The result is her book  What Young People Want from Mental Health Services. She says mental health services for youth are outdated, inhospitable and inaccessible to many, and need a radical overhaul.

11:45 Film & TV: Get Back, Dune, The Rescue, The Unforgiveable

Film and TV reviewer James Croot joins the programme to talk about Peter Jackson's docu-series on the Beatles, Get Back (Disney+), the new blockbuster remake of Dune (cinemas), the incredible story of the underwater cave rescue of a Thai football team and The Unforgiveable (Netflix), starring Sandra Bullock.