Nine To Noon for Monday 16 May 2022

09:05 Cycling NZ in spotlight :  report on wellbeing of athletes in high performance programme

The inquiry into the high performance programme delivered by Cycling New Zealand and primarily funded by High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) is about to be released. It looks into the wellbeing of people in the programme and it is critical moment for Cycling NZ and for elite programmes across all sports. Cycling NZ's has already been scrutinised in an earlier report in 2018. This included the welfare of athletes and the coaching culture and behaviour in the elite ranks. The latest deep dive follows the death, believed by suicide, of Olympic cyclist Olivia Podmore last year.  Kathryn discusses the concerns blighting elite cycling with sports commentator Dana Johannsen. She is Stuff's national correspondent specialising in sport, and has been following the story.

09:15 Crisis in residential and community aged care

People living with dementia are waiting too long for assessments, and can languish for years before getting respite or residential care according to Alzheimers New Zealand. The aged care sector is 20 percent short of nurses, which has forced the closure of some resthomes and the loss of 500 aged care beds in the last six months. This at a time when the population is ageing and the incidence of dementia is rising. Alzheimers NZ Chief Executive Catherine Hall says in some areas people are waiting a year to be assessed by a psycho-geriatrician and the wait for residential and respite care can be up to two years. Ms Hall says everyone - including government - has been warned of the tsunami of need, yet nothing has been done and now the sector is at crisis point. Kathryn also speaks to Aged Care Commissioner  Carolyn Cooper.

09:30 Innovation in keeping track of farm data

Pōrangahau farmer Gretchen King talks to Kathryn about the development of a software programme that makes it easy for farmers to record information. The Cloud Farmer App clears the way to discarding the old notebook. There is interest from overseas and Gretchen believes Cloud Farmer could also be used by horticulturalist and agriculturalist.

09:45 Europe correspondent Seamus Kearney; Eurovision, Finland's NATO bid, a Brexit-Sinn Fein row

Amid the gloom of war, Ukraine's Eurovision win has lifted spirits, with a decisive win for the Kalush Orchestra, with their entry 'Stefania'. The group has just released the video of their song, filmed among the ruins of Irpin and Bucha. Europe correspondent Seamus Kearney also looks to Finland, which has formally formally confirmed its intention to join NATO in light of Russia's war against Ukraine, and a Brexit row has blocked Sinn Fein - off the back of a historic election win - from appointing a First Minister for Northern Ireland. 

10:05  Keri Bloomfield on being a Kiwi in Denmark

When Keri Bloomfield upped sticks and planted herself in Denmark - she found it wasn't all hygge and pastries. She'd flown to the other side of the world to join her partner, with the four-month-old addition to their family in tow. She found herself blogging about her experiences as a way to cope with the quirks of cross-cultural misadventures and it's now been turned into a book called 'Nothing Like a Dane'.

10:35 Book review: Bookseller at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw

Mary Fawcett of Schrödinger's Books in Petone reviews Bookseller at the End of the World by Ruth Shaw, published by Allen and Unwin

10:45 The Reading

The final story from The Devil's Trumpet written by Tracey Slaughter and told by Carmel McGlone.

11:05 Political commentators Morten & Te Pou

Shane, Brigitte and Kathryn look ahead to the Government's Emissions Reduction Plan, Thursday's Budget, also reflecting on the border reopening, immigration reset and the Māori Party's decision not to stand in the Tauranga by-election.

Brigitte Morten is a director with public and commercial law firm Franks & Ogilvie and a former senior ministerial advisor for the previous National-led government. 

Shane Te Pou is a former candidate, campaign manager and executive member of the Labour Party, and a former union official. He is no longer a member of any political party. He is a Director and HR Manager for IT Company Mega.

11:30 The Fish and Game Cookbook 

A successful restaurateur turned celebrity chef, Angelo Georgalli - also known as the Game Chef - has over 25 years experience in cooking, with a particular passion for hunting, fishing, archery and getting out into the great outdoors. His work as a volunteer Fish and Game ranger, and putting lunch together for his colleagues, inspired him to write a cookbook devoted to New Zealand's wild animals. The outcome is the Fish and Game Cookbook, in collaboration with the organisation of the same name. From pūkeko potato top pie, to black swan schnitzel burgers and salmon fettucine, Angelo has created a book chock full of tips and recipes to make the most of game birds, waterfowl and freshwater fish. 

11:45 Off the beaten track with Kennedy Warne: Hundertwasser Art Centre

Kennedy Warne visits the Hundertwasser Art Centre in Whangārei, initiated in 1993 and which finally opened in February this year. Austrian-born Friedensreich Hundertwasser lived the last 30 years of his life in New Zealand, and was a conservation pioneer as well as a brilliant artist and visionary architect. The centre expresses his philosophy that nature, art and life are a seamless and beautiful whole.