Nine To Noon for Tuesday 25 January 2022

 

 

09:05 Landlords' collection of personal information under spotlight

The Office for the Privacy Commission is cracking down on property managers and landlords who risk breaching the Privacy Act in how they handle tenants' personal information. Renters groups call the industry a "wild west" with little regulation or oversight for how property managers and landlords conduct their business. They describe the invasive process of applying for flats; asked to provide information about their race, gender, sexual orientation, or political affiliations, or required to submit bank statements to show spending habits. Kathryn speaks with Ashok Jacob from Renters United, and the Deputy Privacy Commissioner, Liz MacPherson, about the guidelines the Commission has introduced for landlords and property managers.

09:30 Driving the global campaign for electric vehicles

Monica Araya is at the forefront of a global campaign to get rid of fossil fuel vehicles in favour of emissions free transport, and says the next five years are utterly critical. She is a member of the United Nations Climate Champions team, and a distinguished fellow with the Drive Electric campaign - a coalition of over 70 organisations lobbying for the cause. It was instrumental in persuading the European Commission to propose that after 2035, there will be no more sales of petrol and diesel cars. With more than a billion internal combustion vehicles around the world, how much progress has been made to change the system?

 

09:45 USA correspondent Ron Elving

All eyes are on Russia and Ukraine and whether the US should impose sanctions on Russia for raising tensions and threatening, or wait for them to invade. Ron says it comes down to how much economic and energy pain the US and NATO are willing to endure to punish Vladimir Putin. And American fingers are crossed that  Omicron may be peaking, or on a plateau, with hopes for it to decrease soon.

Ron Elving is Senior Editor and Correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News.

 

 

10:05 How wood shaped human history and evolution

Roland Ennos says humanity owes a huge debt to the most humble of materials; wood. His book The Wood Age: How One Material Shaped the Whole of Human History takes us on a sweeping ten-million-year tour, charting how wood has been critical to our evolution; shaping our bodies and our minds. Starting from great apes who built their nests among the trees, to early humans who depended on wood for fire, shelter, tools and weapons; on to the structural design of wheels and woodwinds, and to the invention of paper and the printing press. Roland Ennos a visiting professor of biological sciences at the University of Hull and has an expansive knowledge of all things arboreal - and has literally written the book on trees; the author of the Natural History Museum's official guide to trees. 

10:35 Book review: Three of the best from 2021: Castle Shade by Laurie R. King; Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro and The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

Lisa Finucane reviews three of her favourite books from last year: Castle Shade by Laurie R. King published by Allen and Unwin; Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro published by Penguin Random House and The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray published by Penguin

10:45 The Reading

11:05 Business commentator Rebecca Stevenson

Rebecca talks about the new do it yourself online investment platforms, how the market leader Sharesies plans to stay a household name, and how regulators around the world are grappling with the ever-changing investment environment.

Rebecca Stevenson is BusinessDesk's head of news.

11:30 Living the dream, baches and seaside settlements

An exploration of lifestyles around New Zealand's coastlines and waterways through Derek Morrison's book, Living the Dream. Derek was NZ Geographic's 2018 Photographer of the Year. His book has stunning images from around the motu and it shows and tells the stories of people who live by the water, with many and varied lifestyles and ways to make a living. From the Seaweed pickers in the far North to the home of a surfing family in St Clair, Dunedin. One of the properties featured is writer and historian Janet Abbott's cottage, Rosy Morn at Boulder Bay near Godley Head, Christchurch. Janet tells of the colourful history of the settlement and of her stone and clay bach.

 

11:45 How well are women managing finance?

Financial Planner Liz Koh with new research revealing the skills - and challenges - for women handling finance.

Liz Koh is a financial planner and specialising in retirement planning. This discussion is of a general nature, and does not constitute financial advice.

 

Music played in this show

Track: Dancing Away In Tears
Artist: Yola
Broadcast time: 11:24