Nine To Noon for Thursday 11 May 2023

 

 

09:05 How high could Auckland rate rises go with Council budget blowout?

Aucklanders are facing even bigger potential rates rises and service cuts. The council's budget shortfall for the next financial year is expected to reach 375 million dollars, up from $295m. And on top of that there's another $50m in storm-related costs. Councillors attended a closed-door workshop on yesterday morning to receive a budget update, ahead of approving the annual budget next month. Mayor Wayne Brown warned councillors that without savings, that would equate to a rate rise of more than 20 percent, which some have labelled scaremongering.  Multiple options are on the table to address the budget gap, including a complete or partial sell-down of the council's $2 billion stake in Auckland Airport,  cutting running costs from between $80m-130m and rates rises. Most submitters who gave feedback on the proposed annual budget supported selling at least some airport shares to boost revenue, but wanted fewer funding cuts. To discuss the situation,  Manukau Ward councillor Alf Filipaina and Viv Beck, a former Mayoral candidate and CEO of Heart of the City

 

 

09:15 Do the wealthy pay their fair share of tax?

Do the wealthy pay their fair share of tax? Three recent reports have come to very different conclusions. An Inland Revenue investigation has found New Zealand's wealthiest families pay less than half the amount of tax, across all forms of income, than most other New Zealanders. But a different report by consulting firm Sapere Research finds the wealthy pay their fair share. And a report from Treasury found that a third of all households receive more in tax credits and benefits than they pay in tax. So why is it so hard to determine who's paying what?  Robin Oliver is the former Deputy Commissioner of Policy at Inland Revenue. He was previously on the United Nations Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters, and represented New Zealand on the OECD' Committee on Fiscal Affairs.  He now runs the tax consultancy OliverShaw - which commissioned the Sapere Report.

09:30 A 'game changer' in Parkinson's research 

New Zealand scientists are celebrating a major advancement in Parkinson's research, which is hoped will improve the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, and even stop full-blown symptoms developing for those newly diagnosed. A new test has been developed that detects abnormal α-synuclein, the main protein in Parkinson's disease, before a patients starts to display typical symptoms, such as tremors, shaking, poor balance and mood changes. Early detection has a major impact on improving outcomes, and the potential of the test is being viewed as a game-changer in Parkinsons' research and care. About 12,000 New Zealanders live with Parkinsons, and that number is rising steadily year-on-year. The proportion being diagnosed with early-onset Parkinsons is rising even faster - that's patients being diagnosed in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. Kathryn speaks with Dr Victor Dieriks, who leads the Synuclein group at the University of Auckland, which is part of the global effort to develop this α-synuclein test. 

09:45 UK: Illegal migration, fewer EU laws dumped, electoral pacts?

UK correspondent Harriet Line joins Kathryn to talk about a savaging of the government's plans to tackle illegal migration, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Justin Welby said the bill - allowing illegal migrants to be deported  immediately to a 'safe' third country like Rwanda - was 'morally unacceptable' but faced a furious backlash. The government promised to trash 4000 EU-era laws - but will only revoke 600. And Harriet looks at what the local election results last week could mean for the next general election.

1005: Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown on big budget blowout - and how to fix it

The council's budget shortfall for the next financial year is expected to reach $375m- up from $295m. Councillors attended a closed-door workshop yesterday morning to receive a budget update, ahead of approving the annual budget next month. Mayor Wayne Brown has warned councillors that without savings, that would equate to a rate rise of more than 20 percent, which some have labelled scaremongering. Kathryn puts that to the mayor, and asked him why he feels selling the Council's shares in Auckland Airport is the only way forward to plug the gap.

10:20 Rina Bliss: how intelligence can expand

Dr Rina Bliss' new book examines the nature of intelligence and its elasticity. In Rethinking Intelligence - A Radical New Understanding of Our Human Potential  Rina challenges the conventional wisdom that intelligence is inherited. Here she considers how intelligence can shrink or grow - in relation to environmental factors like stress and diet, which can affect our potential to be brainier. She also questions the merit of measuring intelligence with IQ tests.  And, with AI the hot topic at the moment, we'll also find out why she thinks human intelligence will always outsmart computational intelligence.  Rina Bliss is a professor of sociology at Rutgers University in New Jersey. She tells Kathryn she has spent decades researching mistaken assumptions about genetics and intelligence.

10:35 Book review: Dream Girl by Joy Holley

Emma Hislop reviews Dream Girl by Joy Holley, published by Te Herenga Waka University Press

10:45 Around the motu: Mike Tweed in Whanganui

Mike has the controversy surrounding Rotokawau Virginia Lake's bird aviary and its future. The Whanganui District Council is currently reviewing its cemeteries and crematoria bylaw, which allows alcohol to be consumed on sites. The public is split on whether that's a good idea or not. On the crime front there's been an increase robberies in the town's main street, Victoria Avenue. And the restoration of a 1942 artillery gun that has stood at Pukenamu Queen's Park for more than three decades is almost complete.

Mike Tweed is a Multimedia Journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle 

 

11:05 Technology: Aussie tech spend-up, big week for NZ space industry

Tech commentator Peter Griffin joins Kathryn to talk about the significant spend included in this week's Australian federal Budget. Could Prime Minister Chris Hipkins pledge to make next week's New Zealand Budget all about "science, infrastructure and skills" include a similar spend up? Rocket Lab successfully launched two Nasa satellites that will track cyclones and Christchurch-based Dawn Aerospace has done a deal with Lynk, a satellite-based broadband company that's aiming to rival Starlink. 

11:25  How trauma affects children and how to talk about it 

Distinguished professor of Māori and Indigenous Studies Linda Tuhiwai Smith's latest work is about understanding children exposed to trauma. She is a leading scholar and researcher in indigenous studies, indigenous education and kaupapa Māori research, and is a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to Māori and education. Now Dr Tuhiwai Smith has written a series of kaupapa Māori-based stories that nurture resilience for children who've experienced trauma and deal wiith hardships that many whānau face. They're books about tamariki  - developed for caregivers, whānau and professionals, including social workers, psychologists, doctors - who support children's wellbeing.
 

11:45 Screentime: Silo, Bupkis, Sweet Tooth (season II)

Film and TV correspondent Chris Schulz joins Kathryn to talk about Silo (Apple TV), based on the novels by Hugh Howey and set in a dystopian future where a group of people live underground in a silo to protect them from the toxic world above. He'll also look at Bupkis, a series based on a fictionalised version of Pete Davidson's life and the second season of New Zealand-shot Sweet Tooth (Netflix).

Music played in this show

Track: Crazy Baldhead
Artist: Bob Marley & the Wailers
Time Played: 10:55

Track: Pull Up to the Bumper
Artist: Grace Jones
Time Played: 11:33