Nine To Noon for Tuesday 21 February 2023

 

09:05 Cyclone Gabrielle: Support package welcome but "drop in the bucket"

The Government has announced a $50 million support package to provide immediate relief for businesses hit by Cyclone Gabrielle.  Finance Minister Grant Robertson says the money will start to be distributed this week and is intended to help businesses meet immediate costs and further assist with clean-up. Susie speaks with Hawkes Bay fruit grower Paul Paynter from Yummy Fruit and Federated Farmers President Andrew Hoggard for their reaction.

 

09:20 Budget advisors concerned over relaxation of lending post cyclone

Part of the government's rescue package announced yesterday was a relaxation of lending rules to allow those affected by extreme weather to borrow ten thousand dollars. The change means that lenders wont' have to do affordability tests on prospective borrowers. It's a move that some budgeting advisors have advised against - saying people who simply cannot afford the credit will end up in a worse financial situation. One of those is David Verry,  a Financial Mentor with North Harbour Budgeting Services and a former banker of three decades. He's already concerned about the proliferation of Buy Now Pay Later transactions - with new data predicting a 28 per cent increase this year to one-point-seven billion dollars.

09.35 Te Puia Springs Hospital staff set for well-deserved break

Health staff at the small hospital in the remote east coast settlement of Te Puia Springs are set to get a well-deserved break today - with medical teams arriving later this morning. The town, which is about 100 kilometres north of Gisborne has only been accessible by helicopter for much of the past week since Cyclone Gabrielle hit. There's been no power or water for a week - and the community has been fending for itself. Susie checks in with Rose Kahaki - the General Manager of Ngati Porou Hauora - which runs Te Puia Springs Hospital.  

 

09:40 Pacific health team heads to Hawkes Bay 

A multi lingual team of Pasifika medics is heading to Hawke's Bay this week. After carrying out an initial needs assessment in Napier, Hastings and Gisborne over the weekend, the Pasifika Medical Association has decided to deploy a Medical Assistance team. PMA Chief Executive, Debbie Sorensen says the medics are specialists in primary care, psychosocial and mental health support - an essential service as the region continues to deal with the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle. She says mental health is emerging as a key concern in the region. 

09:45 USA correspondent Ron Elving

Ron talks to Susie about the US focus on China's surveillance and Russia's push in Ukraine, more mass shootings in various parts of America, Donald Trump's legal problems and the declining health of US former President Jimmy Carter who is 98.

Ron Elving is a Senior Editor and Correspondent, Washington Desk for NPR news 

10:05 Wairoa's big clean up

RNZ reporter Jamie Tahana from Wairoa where the big clean up after Cyclone Gabrielle is underway. About 250 homes were inundated, and around one hundred remain without power.

10:10 Naomi Ballantyne: A lifetime in life insurance

Insurance is very much on the mind of many around the country at the moment after the devastating events that have marked the start of the year. It's something Naomi Ballantyne knows a lot about - as the founder of not one, but two, insurance companies. She grew up on Auckland's North Shore, her mother from Tonga and her father from Canada. She's spoken publicly before about her father's struggles with alcoholism and the effect it had on the family. After a brush with unemployment, she became a founding employee of Sovereign Insurance in 1988, and left a decade later, after it was bought by ASB. She founded Club Life in 2001, and then Partners Life in 2011 which was sold last year to Japanese company Dai-ichi Life for $1 billion, but she will remain Managing Director of the business.Naomi speaks to Susie about what 40 years in the industry has taught her.

10:35 Book review: What Women Want by Maxine Mei-Fung Chung

Cynthia Morahan reviews What Women Want by Maxine Mei-Fung Chung, published by Penguin Random House

10:45 Around the motu: Tim Brown in Hawkes Bay 

 

11:05 How Northland is coping with Cyclone Gabrielle infrastructure damage

Whangarei District Mayor Vince Cocurullo confirms some people have been 10 days without power, and parts of the roading network have taken a heavy hit, in particular the road through the Brynderwyns.
 

11:10 Business commentator Rebecca Stevenson 

Rebecca talks about the difficult task of assessing the economic damage of Cyclone Gabrielle. The damage to homes, infrastructure and agriculture is significant, and will lead to a drop in economic activity as people are stuck at home, unable to open their business or have crops under water that can't be harvested and sold. There is also an immediate localised impact, particularly in those hardest hit areas like the Hawke's Bay, which relies heavily on agriculture and particularly horticulture, to underpin its economy. Also, Rebecca talks to Susie about whether talk about an AirBnB Bust is overdone.

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

11:30 Cottage industry making durable outdoor gear

Luke Sergent had been working as an arborist when injury forced him to rethink his career.  Always an avid cyclist and hunter he decided to make panniers for his bike, then a light-weight backpack. No mean feat as it required some upskilling - or basically, teaching himself to sew. His online company, SouthernLite Packs based in Kingston, near Queenstown is flourishing.

11:45 Sports-chat with Joe Porter

RNZ Sports reporter, Joe Porter with the latest on the White Ferns, Black Caps, the ongoing saga surrounding the naming of the next All Blacks coach, analysis of the Halberg Awards, Lydia Ko's fine form and the Breakers making it to the Aussie NBL grand finals for first time in 7 years.

Music played in this show

Artist: Haz & Miloux
Track: Three
Time played: 10:55am

Artist: Arlo Parks
Track: Weightless
Time played: 11:25am