Nine To Noon for Thursday 9 March 2023

09:05 Will Ruapehu ski fields re-open this winter?

Ruapehu skiers will be able take to the slopes this winter - but many questions remain about how Whakapapa and Turoa ski fields will operate. Ruapehu Alpine Lifts remains in voluntary administration but administrator John Fisk has announced it will "soon" sell winter season passes for 2023. No precise date or cost has been outlined, nor has the status of life pass holders been clarified. RAL had received $10 million from the government, but administrator John Fisk says more is needed. A group of life pass holders and the Save Mt Ruapehu Skifields Group are soon to form an incorporated society, as part of a proposal for the ski fields to be community owned and not for profit. Kathryn speaks with PWC partner and RAL co-administrator Richard Nacey and Robert Krebs, from the Life Pass Holders Association, and member of the creditors committee.

09:25 How Northland is faring after Cyclone Gabrielle

The massive toll Cyclone Gabrielle has taken on Northland residents, roading, rail, businesses and infrastructure is now unfolding as most communication and power has been restored. Te Tai Tokerau Economic Development Agency, Northland Inc says the focus is on recovery, but in many parts of the region the damage and suffering is ongoing and intense. Northland Inc Chief Executive Paul Linton predicts the Government money already allocated to the Far North and Northland will be massively oversubscribed and they'll soon have to ask for more. Kathryn will also speak to Nancy Kareroa-Yorke, who is the Area council chair for NZ Red  Cross in Northland about what communities are needing most and to Pera Paniora who is the Maori Ward councillor in Kaipara.
 

09:45 UK: Anger at illegal migrant bill, Hancock's WhatsApps leaked

UK correspondent Dan Bloom joins Kathryn to talk about how Rishi Sunak is banking his election recovery on a pledge to "stop the boats", as the number of people arriving on dinghies across the Channel has exploded. A new law would prevent migrants arriving this way from ever claiming asylum or settling in the UK, but it's outraged human rights charities and could be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. Meanwhile former health secretary Matt Hancock has been burned by the leak of 100,000 WhatsApp messages, released by the anti-lockdown journalist who was the ghost-writer of his memoir. 

10:05 Professor Moon Duchin - using maths to combat gerrymandering

An American mathematician is using maths and computer science to end the decades-old political tactic of gerrymandering. It's a practice used by both Republicans and Democrats in the US to manipulate electoral boundaries to influence elections and stay in power. It's sparked lengthy court challenges in districts where election outcomes have been unfairly skewed. Professor Moon Duchin from Tufts University heads up a research group which aims to make the voting system fairer by using geometry to redraw district boundaries. The civil rights advocate regularly appears as an expert in high profile legal cases involving gerrymandering and last year featured in the Netflix documentary A Trip to Infinity. She's in New Zealand to deliver a lecture at Auckland University, and joins Kathryn to explain how data science can be used to ensure a fairer system and bring about democratic reform. 

10:35 Book review: Histories of Hate: The Radical Right in Aotearoa New Zealand by Matthew Cunningham, Marinus La Rooij and Paul Spoonley (eds)

David Hill reviews Histories of Hate: The Radical Right in Aotearoa New Zealand by Matthew Cunningham, Marinus La Rooij and Paul Spoonley (eds), published by Otago University Press

10:45 Around the motu: Georgina Campbell in Wellington

How Wellington's new convention centre Tākina is taking shape. Also, Wellingtonians are facing a rates increase of 12.9 per cent, with mayor Tory Whanau facing faces challenge to rates hike plan. And the cost of a new shared path and seawalls around Eastbourne's exposed coastline has skyrocketed from $30m to $79m.
Georgina Campbell is the NZ Herald's Wellington issues reporter.
 

11:05 Tech: New (AI) doc on the block, near universal internet, more Twitter trouble

Technology correspondent Paul Matthews joins Kathryn to talk about how Artificial Intelligence software that detects breast cancer missed by doctors is being rolled out into production now, leaving some doctors wondering what the future of their field looks like. The tech is saving lives - will we still need radiologists? The latest InternetNZ Internet Insights Report found that close to all New Zealanders can access the Internet at home now, but there are still discrepencies. So who is missing out and why do some groups still have big concerns? Some of the predictions of doom and gloom seemed to come true for Twitter last week, for a couple of hours at least. Turns out, a single engineer accidentally took the whole platform down.

Paul Matthews is Chief Executive of CIO Studio.

11:25 Parenting: mentoring young people

Upside Youth Mentoring has been operating for 16 years predominantly in the Auckland region. It runs programmes for at risk children aged 9 to 13 and matches them up with volunteer mentors. Jenny Horst is the CEO of Upside Youth Mentoring Aotearoa and she says the mentors help young people to navigate life's difficulties.

 

11:45 Screentime: Rain Dogs, Elements of Truth, 2023 Oscars

Film and TV reviewer Tamar Munch joins Kathryn to look at unconventional love story Rain Dogs (Neon), Elements of Truth: Behind the Scenes of Jami-Lee Ross' 2020 Election Campaign (Spinoff) and which movies have made the list for this year's 'Best Picture' Oscar.

 

Music played in this show

Artist:Beach Boys

Track:  God Only Knows

Time played: 10:30

 

Artist: John Cale

Track: Mr Wilson

Time played: 10:35

 

Artist: Lou'ana

Track: Move Along

Time played: 11:30