Nine To Noon for Wednesday 23 March 2022

 

09:05 East Cape flooding: Gisborne region state of emergency declared 

Heavy rain has sparked a Civil Defence emergency the Gisborne region, with the main state highway connection between Gisborne and Opotiki cut and the areas of Tolaga Bay and Tokomaru Bay particularly badly affected. Lynn talks to Zak Horomia, chairman of the Hinemaurea Marae in Mangatuna - where some residents were evacuated in the early hours of the morning.

09:15 What could and should Auckland be in 50 years?

Auckland needs a huge shake-up of its decision making, funding, strategy and elections, according to a new report. Reimagining Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland: harnessing the region's potential,  was commissioned by the city's economic and cultural development agency Auckland Unlimited - and researched by Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures. It looks at Auckland's 50-year future, and what it would take to create a  global, liveable and sustainable city. The report says fragmented decision-making and funding processes, and the lack of a joined-up vision and strategy that is agreed by both central and local government and endorsed by its citizenry are holding our biggest city back.
It calls for major changes to Auckland's structures for governance, management, planning and funding, as well new ways for Aucklanders to participate in their democracy. It also recommends the establishment of an Auckland Commissioner for Future Generations. Lynn Freeman speaks with Sir Peter Gluckman, the report's co-author,  Koi Tū director and former Chief Science Advisor, and Nick Hill, Auckland Unlimited Chief Executive Nick Hill.

09:30 Reducing reoffending with bank accounts 

A pilot programme helping prisoners set up bank accounts before they're released from prison has been so successful it's been rolled out to all of the country's corrections facilities.  The New Start scheme, a collaboration between Westpac and the Department of Corrections, helps set prisoners up with a valid ID, a debit card and access to online banking by the time they're released. The scheme is the first of its kind in New Zealand and aims to help prisoners reintegrate into the community. Prison reform groups such as the Howard League are welcoming the initiative as a way to reduce recidivism by providing people with the practical tools they need to get a job or a benefit. Lynn discusses the project with Darius Fagan, General Manager for Case Management and Probation at the Department of Correction and Mike Williams, chief executive of the Howard League. 

09:45 Australia: Space Command launched, Google sued by politician

Australia correspondent Chris Niesche joins Lynn to look at the miltiary's new Space Command which formally began operating on Tuesday. Defence Minister Peter Dutton has warned space is already becoming congested and contested, and flagged the command could look more like the US Space Force in future. Chris will also look at the lawsuit by former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro against Google over two videos posted by comedian and political commentator Jordan Shanks, who is known online as FriendlyJordies.

10:05 The importance of a wandering mind     

There's a lot of pressure to keep our minds sharp. Whether it's for the workplace or home life we're expected to be focused and single minded. But it's not how our brains are designed to work. Neuroscientist and the former Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at Harvard Medical School Moshe Bar is the author of Mindwandering - How it can improve your mood and boost your creativity and he's been exploring the vitality that can come from the vague. 

10:30 Gisborne Civil Defence - Tairāwhiti state of emergency

Wild weather lashing East Cape is causing evacuations, rescues, flooding slips and road closures.The area between Tolaga Bay and Tokomaru Bay has been particularly hard hit, closing the highway around East Cape to Ōpōtiki, David Wilson is Tairawhiti's Civil Defence Group controller.

10:35 Book review: Burning Questions by Margaret Atwood

David Hill reviews Burning Questions by Margaret Atwood, published by Penguin Random House NZ

10:45 The Reading

Trashing the Flowers told by Heather O'Carroll, from Airini Beautrais' Bug Week.

11:15 Music with Charlotte Ryan

Music 101 host Charlotte Ryan joins Lynn to talk about Aldous Harding releasing her fourth album 'Warm Chris' this week, she'll play a track from Arcade Fire's new album coming out in May and share a new single from Brooklyn-based Pakistani composer Arooj Aftab.
 

11:30 Matt Chamberlain: decades on screen and stage

Matt Chamberlain is well known on screen and stage after more than two and a half decades as an actor. He's been on Shortland Street, One Lane Bridge, in movies Avatar, King Kong and Under the Mountain, as well as theatre performances around the country. His latest co-written work opens at Circa Theatre in Wellington on Saturday, with a season at Auckland's Centerpoint to come. Called Timberrrr!, it is set in Taranaki in the 1940s in the world of competitive woodchopping.

11:45 Science: The bright side of life, insect wings and anti-bacterial things

Science commentator Dr Siouxsie Wiles joins Lynn to look at the first evidence-based, consensus recommendations on exactly how bright things should be during the day and night to support our internal body clocks - and help us get a good night's sleep. She'll also look at how researchers have developed a natural antibacterial texture for use on food packaging based on the bacteria-killing properties of cicada and dragonfly wings.

Associate Professor Dr Siouxsie Wiles is the head of Bioluminescent Superbugs Lab at the University of Auckland.
 

Music played in this show

Artist: Flying High 
Title: Angelique Kidjo 
Time: 11.32pm