Nine To Noon for Thursday 18 August 2022

 

09:05 Is inflation on the turn?

The Reserve Bank hiked interest rates once again yesterday - taking the official cash rate up half a percet to 3 percent - part of its agressive campaign to tackle inflation which has hit a 30 year high. The central bank says higher interest rates are needed to cool the economy, the strong rise in wages and other domestic cost pressures. It also signalled two more hikes to come, in October and November, topping out at four per cent. So is inflation on the turn? And what is the liklihood of a recession as things stand? Kathryn speaks with economist and head of research at the BNZ bank, Stephen Toplis.

09:20 Electricity Authority puts restrictions on very large electricity contracts

The Electricity Authority says very large electricity contracts will only be allowed under certain conditions,  under a new interim restriction just announced this morning. The move targets very large, discounted wholesale contracts such as that of the Tiwai Aluminium Smelter - which it says has the potential to make small consumers pay more. Last year the Authority estimated the impact of Tiwai's discounted power, could potentially lead to households paying up to $200 extra on their electricity bills each year. The new restriction will be for nine months, while a proposed permanent amendment is consulted on. Kathryn speaks with the Electricity Authority's Chief Executive James Stevenson-Wallace.

09.30 Evacuated Nelson residents return to assess flood damage

Some Nelson residents evacuated from their homes yesterday due to flooding are returning to look at the damage. 223 homes near the city centre were evacuated yesterday when the Maitai River broke its banks as relentless rain hammered the region. Another ten homes had to be evacuated in the Tāhunanui Hills overnight due to a slip. Maggie Gray was one of those evacuated from her Nile Street home yesterday afternoon - she joins Kathryn as she returns to her property to find out how it has fared.

09:35  Rise of Instascams: How to protect your business from being hacked

Falling victim to an online scam is bad enough, but what if someone hijacks your business's social media account, pretends to be you - and then successfully scams other people? It happened to Sarah, who runs a floral business called Print and Petal. She lost control of her Instagram account, and later discovered her followers had been encouraged into click on links for cryptocurrency scams - which some of them did, and lost a lot of money over. Last year Netsafe had almost 15,000 complaints of attacks designed to either harm a computer system or its users. Kathryn speaks with Sarah, and Alastair Miller, Principal Advisory Consultant at Aura Information Security, about the increase in such attacks, where users are vulnerable and why small business owners who rely on social media need to have a plan of what to do if they get hacked.

09:45 UK correspondent Harriet Line

New figures show inflation rose 10.1 percent in July, the highest in more than 40 years. The spike in inflation is largely down to food prices and staples. It has resulted in the contenders in the Tory leadership race, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss trading barbs over each other's economic policies. And after weeks of dry, hot weather, heavy rain has brought flash floods across parts of England and sewage pollution warnings at more than 40 beaches and swimming spots in England and Wales.

10:05 Severe flooding in Nelson, more rain to come 

Kathryn gets an update from Tasman Region Civil Defence Emergency Management group controller Alec Louverdis about the situation in Nelson, where 233 homes have been evacuated and a state of emergency declared after the Maitai River burst its banks yesterday afternoon.  

10:10 A Nazi or a KGB agent? Linda Kinstler's search for her grandfather

Journalist Linda Kinstler grew up not knowing much about her Latvian grandfather, other than he'd disappeared after World War Two. It was only later, as an adult, that she learned her paternal grandfather, Boris Kinstler, had been a Nazi collaborator and member of the SS in Latvia. After the war, he became a KGB agent, and then vanished. In search of answers about her grandfather, Linda Kinstler uncovers his links to a man called Herbert Cukurs, known as the "Butcher of Riga", implicated in the murder of 30,000 Jews in Latvia. In researching her book, Come to This Court and Cry: How the Holocaust Ends, she unravels a tale of revisionism, ultra-nationalism and denialism - issues that are just as timely as ever.

10:35 Book review: Bolla by Pajtim Statovci  

Ralph McAllister reviews Bolla by Pajtim Statovci, published by Allen and Unwin

10:45 The Reading

Part nine of Carl Nixon's The Tally Stick.

11:05 Tech: AI sentience, self-drive cars v kids, cameras and phone use

Technology correspondent Mahsa Mohaghegh looks at artificial intelligence use in natural language processing and how close it is to being sentient. She'll also look at how safe pedestrians are from self-driving cars after a campaign group claimed the software was potentially lethal to children. Cameras are being used to detect errant mobile users while driving and the first female-led hackathon is due to be held next month.

Dr Mahsa Mohaghegh is Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering - Computer and Mathematical Sciences and  Director of Women in Technology at the Auckland University of Technology.

11:25 Parenting : Dealing with Whining, Fighting, Meltdowns and Other Challenges

Julie King and Joanna Faber are the co-author of books aimed at helping parents communicate well with their children, from pre schoolers to teens.Their previous survival guide to life with children aged 2 to 7 has been translated into 22 languages, they also have a companion app HOW TO TALK: Parenting Tips in Your Pocket, and the app Parenting Hero. Their new collaboration is the book How To Talk When Kids Won't Listen: Whining, Fighting, Meltdowns, Defiance, & other Challenges of Childhood. There's a delightful quote at the beginning of their book - which will resonate with parents and caregivers "Before I became a parent, I didn't know I could ruin someone's day by asking them to put pants on."

 

11:45 Film & TV: Good Luck To You Leo Grande, Bad Sisters, Five Days at Memorial

Film and TV correspondent James Croot looks at Emma Thompson's new film Good Luck to You Leo Grande, which is out in cinemas today. You can listen to Nine to Noon's interview about the movie here. And Apple TV has two new offerings: Bad Sisters and a haunting look at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: Five Days at Memorial.

 

Music played in this show

Track: Express Yourself
Artist: Charles Wright
Time Played: 11:22