Nine To Noon for Tuesday 7 February 2023

 

 

09:05 Why some community pharmacies are closing

Community pharmacies say they're under increasing pressure due to funding issues and the influx of discount chemist chains, forcing dozens to close their doors. 70 community pharmacies have closed in the last four years according to the Pharmacy Guild.Last year 30 were shut down, largely replaced by discount chains such as the Chemist Warehouse and Countdown supermarket pharmacies.A group of pharmacists has taken a legal case against Te Whatu Ora claiming it has issued invalid contracts to discount pharmacies to operate, the judgement is yet to be issued. In Auckland, Seema Rambisheswar permanently closed her Life Pharmacy store in Glenfield  just over a week ago, after working there for 22 years - and owning it for 14 years. She talks to Kathryn about what forced the closure, and Pharmacy Guild Chief Executive, Andrew Gaudin outlines the multiple stressors on the sector.

09:30 New housing alliance seeks action on 200,000 homes

A newly-formed alliance is hoping to place housing firmly at the top of the election agenda this year for all political parties. The Homes We Deserve has the backing of 22 organisations who want to see a commitment to a renovation programme for at least 200,000 homes. The alliance says over 300-thousand homes in New Zealand are sometimes, or always, damp and 250,000 had mould larger than a piece of A4 paper. It says doing up these homes could slash carbon emissions, household bills, create tens of thousands of jobs and  improve the health of Kiwis. Joining to outline their argument is Andrew Eagles from the Green Building Council and Letitia Harding from the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation.

09:45 USA correspondent Ron Elving

Ron talks to Kathryn about what's next in the saga of the suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down by the US military off the coast of South Carolina. 

10:05   World renowned Neuropsychiatrist on longevity and staving off dementia 

Common factors for longevity from the neuropsychiatrist with oversight of one of the world's largest studies of centenarians, is reaching 150 possible?. Much of Professor Perminder Sachdev's work relates to the epidemiology of dementia and cognitive ageing.  In particular, the focus is on identifying risk factors for dementia, especially those that can be modifying, in diverse communities, so that strategies can be developed to help delay the onset of dementia.  The idea behind this is that if dementia can be delayed by even 1-2 years, it will lead to a significant reduction in disease burden. 

10:35 Book review: Self Portrait by Celia Paul

Melanie O'Loughlin Lamplight Books in Auckland reviews Self Portrait by Celia Paul, published by Vintage

10:45 Around the motu: Sam Olley at Waitangi

RNZ reporter Sam Olley has spent six days in Waitangi covering this year's commemorations and joins Kathryn to explain how they shaped up compared to last year's Omicron-affected event. She'll look at the exchanges between politicians and the chairs, key messages delivered and the reception new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins received.

11:05 Political commentators Hughes & Morten

Political commentators Gareth Hughes and Brigitte Morten join Kathryn to talk about Auckland's flood recovery and Wayne Brown's independent inquiry into the Auckland flood response - which he announced at the weekend. How did the new PM go at Waitangi, what to make of his Cabinet reshuffle and will the latest poll numbers have buoyed Labour?

Gareth Hughes is a former Green MP and now works for the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa. 
 
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. 
 

11:30 Business commentator Rebecca Stevenson

If 2022 was about the rise of unions in the US, 2023 is shaping up to be the year of the strike - but this reaches far beyond America's shores. Britain faces the largest ever strike by health workers today as tens of thousands of nurses and ambulance workers walk out. There are transport strikes, education strikes, civil servants are striking - the Guardian website is now running a "strike calendar" to keep track of them all. And this week bids will start coming in to buy one of the world's biggest sporting names: Manchester United. The club is up for sale by the US-based Glazer family, who are despised by the club's fans for siphoning billions out of the club and eroding its dominance on the field. 

Rebecca Stevenson  is a senior writer at interest.co.nz

11:45 Sports-chat with Sam Ackerman

Sam looks into a few examples from over the weekend -  of how what happens - when the focus is on who you’ve lost from sporting organisations rather than who is still there - and what the first weekend of the Six Nations tells us in the first on-field step towards the World Cup.

 

 

Music played in this show

Title: Skyline, be mine
Artist: Shura
Time Played: 10.57

Title: Fixture Picture
Artist: Aldous Harding 
Time Played: 11.46