Nine To Noon for Monday 20 March 2023

09:05 Wellington's water woes: where to from here?

Frustration is mounting among Wellington's mayors and residents at the region's decaying water infrastructure. Wellington Water is struggling to keep up with repairs to about 3,035 leaks in the water network, and it's estimated 40 percent of Wellington's drinking water is being lost through leaking pipes. Wellington City Council recently denied Wellington Water's request for an additional $10 million in funding, citing a lack of confidence in the organisation to deliver the work, opting to allocate just $2.3 million instead. These problems come as the government's plans for a multi-billion dollar water infrastructure programme continues to attract controversy, with 30 councils opposing the Three Waters reforms and calling for the bill to be delayed until after the election. For Wellingtonians, burst pipes have become a common occurence around the city; closing roads, creating slips, and even threatening homes. Last week, a leaking pipe that Lower Hutt residents had been complaining about for months caused a slip in Port Howard, causing 10 houses to be evacuated and cutting off power to 75 homes. Kathryn discusses Wellington's water woes with three of the region's mayors; Campbell Barry from Lower Hutt and the chair of the Wellington Water committee, Tory Whanau from Wellington, and Wayne Guppy from Upper Hutt.

09:30 Should cryptocurrencies be regulated?

Calls for cryptocurrencies to be regulated have gained new urgency following last week's collapse of the major tech bank, Silicon Valley Bank. The International Monetary Fund and the G20 have raised the prospect of regulating the crypto industry, although an outright ban has not been ruled out. The IMF says regulation is now a priority for authorities, particularly after the collapse of a number of crypto exchanges and assets in recent years. The G20 is also pushing for a collective global effort to deal with problems posed by cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank has renewed focus on the impact cryptocurrencies can have on the banking sector, with the IMF reiterating its earlier warnings about the risks of banks losing deposits and curtailing lending. Kathryn speaks to Campbell Pentney, special counsel at Bell Gully who has a particular interest in blockchain, cryptocurrency and the future of money. 

09:45 Latin America correspondent Katy Watson 

For the first time since the days of hyperinflation in the 90s, Argentina's inflation rate has risen above 100%. That means that since 2022, prices of consumer goods have more than doubled. Former Brazil President, Jair Bolsonaro who is still in self-exile in the US, has been ordered to turn over more than 3 million dollars worth of jewellery that he reportedly received from Saudi Arabia as a gift while president. And in Chile, there's a second attempt at drafting a new constitution. The current constitution dates back to the Pinochet dictatorship and changing it was one of the major demands from Chileans who took to the streets in 2019 in mass protests.

Katy Watson is a BBC correspondent based in Sao Paulo.

10:05 Kris Helgen - where mammals began

Professor Kris Helgen's career has taken him to volcanic caters in Papua New Guinea, savanna grasslands of Kenya, and ventured deep into the forests of the Andes. The chief scientist at the Australian Museum Research Institute helped name and discover around 100 species of mammal, many of which were sitting undiscovered in the dark depths of museum storage facilities. His latest research published in the Australasian Journal of Palaeontology completely flips the narrative on where we think mammals came from, and instead places Australia at the heart of the emergence of mammal evolution. Kris talks to Kathryn about where his fascination with mammals comes from, how his latest research could turn 200 years of study on its head and how he got so good at finding new species.

10:35 Book review: Heart Sutra by Yan Lianke

 Phil Vine reviews Heart Sutra by Yan Lianke, published by Text Publishing

10:45 Around the motu : Peter Newport -  covering Queenstown Lakes & Central Otago

Queenstown's economy and the tourism industry have been based for years on a migrant workforce, but Peter says that post covid there's a new focus on improving wages and conditions and trying to attract Kiwi workers. He also talks to Kathryn about increasing tensions between Dunedin and the Southern Lakes as Dunedin's population is dropping but the Southern Lakes population has grown by 10% just in the past three years. And the Queenstown Airport Corporation has had a dramatic rise in passenger numbers.

Peter Newport is the Managing Editor,  Crux, based in Arrowtown.

11:05 Political commentators Lamia Imam & Ben Thomas 

Political commentators Lamia Imam and Ben Thomas join Kathryn to talk about how the Prime Minister Chris Hipkins handled Stuart Nash's resignation last week from his Police portfolio - should he have gone further? They'll also talk about the PM's policy bonfire, the latest political polls and the decision by former National leader Todd Muller to step down ahead of the election.

Lamia Imam worked for two years for the Labour Party in the Leader of the Opposition's office under Phil Goff and David Shearer. She also worked for the Ministry of Justice, before gaining a Masters in Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin. She currently works for a large technology company in Wellington.

Ben Thomas is a former National government press secretary, a columnist and a director of public affairs firm Capital.

11:30 How best to preserve fruit this autumn

It's autumn,  and if you have laden fruit trees - what are the best ways to preserve your harvest? Angela Clifford is a North Canterbury farmer, educator, entrepreneur and foodie who lives with her husband Nick and their three children on a busy six-and-a-half hectare permaculture property, where they grow more than 60 varieties of fruit and vegetables and raise chickens, turkeys, ducks, sheep, bees, cows and pigs. Angela says not everyone is a fan of making jams and bottled fruit, and her family favours dried fruit. She shares tips with Kathryn.

11:45 Off the beaten track with Kennedy Warne: Urban green spaces

Kennedy talks about the new report from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment into urban green spaces, and how they're being threatened by the need for housing. He'll talk about the communities that have become passionate protectors of their parks and reserves - no matter how small - and use a local example of how urban intensification and climate change is leaving green spaces under threat when events like the January floods and Cyclone Gabrielle occur.

Music played in this show

Track: Strange Things Happening
Artist: Sister Rosetta Sharpe
Time Played: 10:33

Track: Small Axe/Battle Axe 
Artist: Bob Marley & The Wailers & The Upsetters 
Time Played: 10:36