Nine To Noon for Friday 11 August 2023

 

09:05 Aged care crisis looms as providers close up

Leaders within the aged care sector are warning New Zealand could find itself short of tens of thousands of beds within the next two decades. Te Whatu Ora projects 78-thousand beds will be needed by 2040, but the Aged Care Association estimates we're on track to have only 33-thousand. Since January 2021, 21 facilities have closed up, due to staff shortages or damage from severe weather. And as of March 26, 136 patients were left waiting in hospital beds for aged care spaces to open up, compounding pressure on the health system. Te Whatu Ora says it is reconsidering the funding model for aged care. Susie Ferguson speaks to Aged Care Association interim CEO Katherine Rich, and Te Whatu Ora interim director of primary, community and rural, Emma Prestidge.

09:30 Building sector needs urgent change: Master Builders election wish list

A group representing three thousand commercial and residential builders says urgent action is needed from whichever party leads the next government to shore-up a vital sector. Master Builders has today released new research on the state of the industry and a challenge to political parties. It says the building industry has for too long been caught up in a boom and bust cycle that government can change. It wants housing to be designated as "critical infrastructure" ; prioritisation of public building and infrastructure projects during down-cycles and a speeding up of consenting. Master Builders Chief Executive David Kelly says if changes aren't made more builders will fail and the homes, schools and hospitals needed around the country won't get built.

09:45 Pacific news

RNZ Pacific Editor Koroi Hawkins discusses a looming motion of no confidence in the government of Vanuatu, and a round up of other stories making headlines in the region.

10:05 Maud Arnold on amplifying tap dance - and inspiring the next generation of dancers

Maud Arnold is one half of a sisterly duo who have been revolutionising the world of tap dance. She and older sister Chloe started dancing at an early age in Washington DC - learning a bit of everything - ballet, jazz and tap. But it was tap that really fired them up, with both having the opportunity to train with tap legends -  Maud won a scholarship to the Debbie Allen Dance Academy.  The pair founded an all-women dance band called Syncopated Ladies  - a high energy celebration of female empowerment  - which won the first dance crew battle on So You Think You Can Dance and has attracted world-wide fans and followers - including Beyonce. Their charity, the Chloe and Maud Foundation helps give underprivileged kids access to dance through events like the annual DC Tap Fest - the biggest tap festival in the world. New Zealanders can see Maud's work in a new movie out as part of the New Zealand International Film Festival, Theater Camp, about eccentric staff at a rundown theatre-focused summer camp. Maud joins Susie to talk about her role in choreographing the film and her love of working with young dancers.

 

10:35 Book review: So Distant From My Life by Monique Ilboudo; translated Yarri Kamara 

Melanie O'Loughlin reviews So Distant From My Life by Monique Ilboudo; translated Yarri Kamara published by Titled Axis Press

10:45 Around the motu: Waikato reporter Libby Kirkby-McLeod

RNZ Waikato reporter Libby Kirkby-McLeod discusses passenger train Te Huia, which is back up and running its full route from Hamilton to Auckland after a temporary halt due to safety concerns. And the latest on fresh sightings of Tom Phillips, who has been missing with his three children for more than a year. Also, Ngāti Apakura, is a hapu near Te Awamutu, is is harvesting off their traditional land again after 160 years - it's now pushing to reconcile the impacts and harm caused by the Crown's attack on Rangiaowhia.

11:05 Music reviewer Grant Smithies​

One of the all-time great compilations, New York Noise, has just got a 20th Anniversary vinyl reissue. We'll hear two tracks from that today, alongside a new solo single from Wellington singer/ songwriter Ebony Lamb, and a prime cut from a new remix collection by reliably pungent Auckland producer, Stinky Jim. 

11:30 Sports commentator Sam Ackerman

The butterfly effect of selection decisions is being felt this week in the world of sport - Sam Ackerman looks at the return of top rugby coach Jamie Joseph to NZ and its potential implications, Eddie Jones’s shock World Cup moves and the return of talisman Trent Boult from the Black Caps selection wilderness, plus new Kiwi World Champion Aaron Gate and why pitch invaders could cost the Warriors dearly.

11:45 The week that was

Comedians Elisabeth Easther and Irene Pink have a few laughs and take us through the week that was.