Nine To Noon for Wednesday 20 July 2022

 

09:05 Concerns dentists will pull out of free care for under-18s
 

Today Nine to Noon looks at the way free dental care is provided to under-18s in New Zealand, amid concerns it's failing to keep up with greater needs and spiralling treatment costs. Children under the age of 18 are entitled to receive free standard dental care, with dentists who enter into a Combined Dental Agreement funded between $130 and $220 per patient. Costs for any additional treatments are also fixed. But some dentists say a new three-year contract which came into force on July 1st - even with an uplift in funding - doesn't reflect the reality of the complex treatments they're actually providing. Kathryn discusses how the funding model works with Dr Katie Ayres of the New Zealand Dental Association and why practices are forced to cover the shortfall through their private patients  with Christchurch dentist Sam Brady.

09:30 Is working from home all it's cracked up to be?

Working from home has become the new normal for many since the Covid pandemic,  and many tout it as being a game changer for employees mental and physical wellbeing. No more long commutes, the ability to do school pick-ups or more easily care for family members, fitting work in and around those commitments. But some new research suggests the reality is more complicated. Microsoft's 2022 New Future of Work studied 31,000 employees in 31 countries. It found while working from home can improve job satisfaction, half of all remote workers felt socially isolated, guilty and trying to overcompensate. Kathryn speaks with clinical psychologist Jacqui Maguire, who says it's a important topic with her corporate and organisational clients.

 

09:45 Australia: Sydney teen killed in Syrian jail, 'catastrophic' wildlife loss

Australia correspondent Chris Niesche joins Kathryn to talk about the death of a Sydney teen in a Syrian jail and whether it might spark renewed interest in the plight of Australian families stuck in Syria following the fall of Isis. He'll look at how Covid is tracking in the country and a new State of the Environment Report finds Australia has lost more mammalian wildlife than any other continent.

10:05 Fiona Barton: Local Gone Missing

Best-selling British author Fiona Barton's new who-dunnit is Local Gone Missing.  A cast of characters keep secrets and the reader guessing when a charismatic local man vanishes without trace from a small seaside town in southern England. It's being described as a "dark and twisty read". Fiona turned to fiction-writing in her early fifties, after a distinguished career in British newspapers (including The Mail on Sunday where she won Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards), followed by years of volunteer work in Sri Lanka training exiled and threatened journalists. Fiona speaks with Kathryn from the south of England.

10:35 Book review: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Louise O'Brien reviews Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, published by Penguin Random House NZ

10:45 The Reading

'Baby No Eyes', part eight. Written by Patricia Grace.

11:05 Music: A look at Bubblegum pop and what made it so fun

The term Bubblegum pop is sometimes used to describe any pop music that may seem metaphorically "sickly sweet", but Bubblegum is actually an official genre itself. Bubblegum was a type of  rock 'n' roll  in the late '60s and early '70s that was specifically marketed to teenagers, and often literally mentioned sugar and candy in the lyrics.  Kirsten Zemke is an ethnomusicologist at the University of Auckland's School of Social Sciences.

11:20  ilabb: garage gear goes global

The popular ilabb brand started out fifteen years ago, in a garage in Picton.  It's expanding, again, into Europe and further into Canada.  It has teamed up with the world's largest mountain bike festival organiser, Crankworx, to supply a line of clothing for Kiwi and Canadian athletes. ilabb's got the attention of some pretty cool backers and is about half way to raising several millions of dollars to get the brand deeper into the northern hemisphere. Kathryn speaks with ilabb co-founder and chief executive Seadon Baker.

11:45 Law: What happens if you're running out of sick leave?

This year's winter illnesses are really starting to bite across a number of industries - but what happens if you're sick, and you've maxxed out your leave? Most employees - if they're on wages or salary - are entitled to at least 10 days' sick leave per year. It was increased last year by the government from five days' minimum entitlement. But it excludes those who are in a job less than six months, or those who are considered contractors. Nine to Noon's legal commentator today is Helen Pryde of Duncan Cotterill.

 

Music played in this show

Artist: Imuji
Track: Be Here Soon
Time played: 9:31

Artist: Porter
Track: Sharon Van Etten
Time played: 10:41