Nine To Noon for Thursday 28 April 2022

 

 

09:05 Warning: six week wait for passport

As Covid-19 border restrictions relax here and abroad, Kiwis are ready for international travel. But passports are taking almost three times as long as usual to process.  Over half a million passports have expired in the past couple of years.  The DIA says there's a high demand for passports with processing time shifting from 10 to 22 working days, equivalent to 32 calendar days, plus time for passports to arrive in the post. For peace of mind six weeks for processing in recommended.  Department of Internal Affairs' Deputy Chief Executive Service Delivery and Operations Maria Robertson joins Kathryn.

09:30 Retirement age renters priced out of NZ's biggest cities

Financial literacy advocate Dr Pushpa Wood says renters who are aiming to survive on super can no longer afford skyrocketing city rentals. Recent research commissioned by New Zealand Seniors in partnership with CoreData showed that more people are working longer as the advent of Covid has delayed their retirement plans. The Retirement Report 2022  also found that only half of the over 50 year olds surveyed felt they were on track to retire at their preferred age. the Government has just announced an Employment Action Plan to support workers past retirement age. Dr Pushpa Wood is from the New Zealand Centre of Financial Education and Research Centre based at Massey University. She says it's imperative that people of all ages have a plan for their retirement.

09:45 UK: Cost of living, sexism in Parliament, McCann suspect lacks alibi

UK correspondent Hugo Gye joins Kathryn to talk about the pressure piling on the government to tackle inflation and the ideas proposed so far - none of which seem likely to make a difference. There's been a massive row over a newspaper report that senior Labour politician, Angela Rayner, has tried to distract Boris Johnson by crossing and uncrossing her legs in Parliament - which she angrily denies. Now female Tory MPs have said they've seen male colleagues watching porn in the Chamber. And a lack of an alibi delivered by the suspect in Madeleine McCann's disappearance raises the prospect of the case finally concluding this year.

10:05 Wool Aid: the world's first merino bandage 

Picking up discarded sticking plasters on the Routeburn Track was a lightbulb moment for Lucas Smith. He was working as a mountain guide, and blisters were a common problem for the tourists he was escorting through the rugged Fiordland landscape. Uncomfortable with the number of plastic plasters being used and thrown away, he turned his gaze to the wool he used pluck off fences to pad his own scrapes and blisters. Six years of research, patenting and development led Lucas to establish Wool Aid, a company manufacturing adhesive bandages made of merino wool. The bandages are entirely natural, responsibly produced and are completely biodegradable. They're also a world first.  Lucas is speaking at the BOMA Agri Summit next month.

 

10:35 Book review: Grand by Noelle McCarthy

Holly Walker reviews Grand by Noelle McCarthy, published Penguin Random House NZ   

10:45 The Reading

Episode eleven of 'Let me Sing you Gentle Songs' by Linda Olsson.

11:05 Tech: What happens to Twitter now Elon Musk is in charge?

Technology commentator Mark Pesce joins Kathryn to break down what this week's big news about Elon Musk's buyout of Twitter will mean. Musk says he wants to make Twitter a "free speech" platform - but for whom? Where will the line between abuse and trolling be drawn? And how have Tesla and Twitter investors reacted

11:25 Parenting skills for blended families

Kathryn talks with parenting coach and education consultant Joseph Driessen about parenting skills for blended families.

11:45 Film & TV: We Own This City, The Explorer Club, Shining Girls

Film and TV correspondent Tamar Munch joins Kathryn to look at a new series from the creators of The Wire called We Own This City (Neon, Sky Go), which exposes the corruption and moral collapse that befalls Baltimore. She'll also look at local series The Explorer Club (TVNZ OnDemand) which introduces kids to iconic New Zealand explorers through hands-on adventures of their own and finally Shining Girls (Apple+), which stars Elisabeth Moss as an assault victim trying to understand her own connection to a brutal murder.

 

Music played in this show

Track:We Give Thanks
Artist: Kokoroko
Time Played: 09:27

Track: Return to our Kowhai
Artist: Salmonella Dub
Time Played: 09:45

Track:  Love Love Love
Artist: My Morning Jacket
Time Played: 10:35

Track: Express
Artist: Reiki Ruawai
Time Played: 10:44

Track:  Bring The Sun
Artist: The Black Seeds
Time Played: 10:24