Nine To Noon for Wednesday 24 April 2024

09:05 Police Association warns officers cannot take gang patches in real time under proposed law

The Police Association warns officers will not be able to confiscate gang patches in real time, under a proposed law change. The Gangs Legislation Amendment Bill is in front of a justice select committee as part of the coalition's crackdown on crime. It includes banning gang patches in all public places, giving police special powers to break up gang gatherings, and allowing courts to stop gang members associating with each other. Association president Chris Cahill says while he broadly supports the bill, the public should not expect officers to take gang patches on the spot.

09:20 Changes to fishing in Fiordland and Chatham Islands 

From tomorrow the amount of finfish and shellfish recreational fishers can take from inside Fiordland will be reduced while takes in the oceans outside the fiords will be encouraged. It's been a five-year journey to get here for the Government-appointed Fiordland Marine Guardians. The group is a statutory advisory board appointed by the Minister for the Environment and is required to monitor the Fiordland Marine Area and to advise ministers on rule changes. The fishing watchdog was warned in 2019 by long-time local fishers that stocks in the fiords of hapuku/bass, blue cod and paua were seemingly much lower and harder to catch than in the past. A particular focus to for the Guardians was to reduce fishing in the vulnerable inner fiords but also the entrances to them, where stocks appear depleted. The new rules include both in the same restricted area. Rebecca McLeod, chair of the Guardians, talks to Kathryn about the need to restrain fishing inside the fiords. 

09:35 New Zealand adds to its seed reserves at remote global vault

Another batch of New Zealand's most precious pasture seeds have been delivered to a doomsday mountain vault in Norway. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, 120 metres inside an Arctic mountainside, has more than 930-thousand varieties of crops. It means they can be retrieved and regrown should a disaster wipe a crucial plant species out. Last month, seeds for ryegrass, a standard clover and a subterranean clover were sent over. Kioumars Ghamkhar is the director of AgResearch's Margot Forde Genebank in Palmerston North - our very own, albeit smaller, seed bank.

09:45 Australia: The state vs Elon Musk's X, PM hikes Kokoda

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton looks at how Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has taken on Elon Musk, calling him an "arrogant billionaire" over his refusal to take down videos of a stabbing attack on an Assyrian priest in Sydney last week. Mr Albanese is on a two-day walk on the Kokoda Track with his PNG counterpart James Marape to mark Anzac Day - but also reinforce Australia's commitment to its northern neighbour. And Kathryn looks at the furore over a comedian's decision to kick out a mother and baby from his gig.

Karen Middleton is political editor of the Guardian Australia

10:05 Natalie Haynes on bringing the classical world to the modern one

Natalie Haynes is an author, stand-up comedian and self-confessed nerd. As a teenager she embraced Latin and Ancient Greek, before going on to study classics under the famed Professor Mary Beard. Moving between the macho world of comedy and the male-dominated world of the classics, Haynes began retelling the stories we thought we knew about ancient Greece. Her feminist take on the famous Greek myths rebalances the scales - giving us a woman's perspective on the tales so often overshadowed by men. Her latest book, Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth, continues her work of reevaluating the characters and stories so often left out. Natalie Haynes will be speaking at the Auckland Writers Festival next month. 

10:35 Book review: The Best Minds by Jonathan Rosen 

Jenna Todd of Time Out Bookstore reviews The Best Minds by Jonathan Rosen published by Penguin Random House NZ  

10:45 Around the motu: Mike Tweed in Whanganui

Mike digs deep into the rates rise set to hit the city - set at about 12 percent for residential properties but to come with some unpopular calls to get there, including the closure of the city's only open air pool. Meanwhile the council is pushing the development of a four-star hotel, for which it would need to borrow $55m. And after 12 years of planning, a project to revive the Kokohuia wetland's been revealed.

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist with the Whanganui Chronicle

11:05 Music with Charlotte Ryan: Taite Prize winners + Earth Day

Music 101 host Charlotte Ryan joins Kathryn to discuss the winner of last night's Taite Music Prize, play a track from Arooj Aftab (who was on Nine to Noon earlier this year) and celebrate Earth Day with a new collaboration from some big names.

11:20 The Taranaki gym encouraging older people to lift weights

Weightlifting is picking up in popularity at a Taranaki gym, including a thriving cohort of older gym goers. A group who range in age from their 60s, to well into their 80s, meet regularly to pump iron, performing impressive moves like deadlifts, and snatches. The program's official name is Refit+, though some of the older members affectionately call it 'fossil fitness'. The program has been running for eight years and there are now more than 30 members, some of whom can lift more than their own bodyweight. Lions Den Gym head coach Dane Carr joins Kathryn Ryan.

11:45 Personal finance: How to get through being made redundant

As thousands of jobs are cut, particularly through the public sector, Lisa joins Kathryn with some of her tips on what to do, including assessing finances, working through your skills and market demand, updating your CV and seeking emotional support if needed.

Lisa Dudson is the owner of Acumen.co.nz. Her advice is of a general nature