Nine To Noon for Monday 29 April 2024

09:05 Police Association talk pay dispute, shift away from mental health callouts

The police pay dispute is now in the hands of a third party, who will decide whether or not they should be earning more. Negotiations between the Government and the Police Association reached a stalemate after union officers overwhelmingly rejected the last offer. By law, police are not allowed to take industrial action, so it's reached the point of a 'final offer arbitration' - where a mediator steps in to decide who to side with. It comes right as Australia ramps up efforts to poach New Zealand officers. Police Minister Mark Mitchell estimates between 50-100 have gone over, though data which would give specifics is not collected. He is still adamant the Government can recruit 500 new officers in the first two years of this term, as promised. The Government is also considering scaling back the role of police officers in mental health callouts, with suggestions to open a fourth option when people call 111, manned by a specialised first responders group. Police Association president Chris Cahill speaks with Kathryn Ryan.

09:20 Preparing mental health workers to attend emergency calls "could take a decade"

The Mental Health Foundation warns preparing the sector to pick up all mental health-related emergency calls could take a decade. Chief executive Shaun Robinson supports the suggestion of a coordinated response alongside police but says transitioning officers away entirely is not feasible. Shaun joins Kathryn to discuss places where a co-response is already being trialed, and how it's going.

09:30 Wood-based energy industry starting to gather steam 

Black wood pellets are seen as a potential silver bullet replacement for coal by major industrial users in New Zealand like Fonterra and Genesis Energy. They are wood pellets that behave a lot like coal in the sense they can be stored outside, and put through the same equipment, meaning plants would not need large and expensive alterations. But they have the significant adage that they don't come with the high greenhouse gas emissions of coal. Worldwide the black pellet industry is in its infancy - estimates last year were that it could produce about 200,000 tonnes a year. There are signs here the black pellet industry is starting to grow - ASX-listed Foresta has signed a 30-year lease on a Kawerau property where it plans to invest $300 million on a processing site. Another company NZ Bio Forestry has a memorandum of understanding with Genesis and has plans to secure a site and start building a processing plant later this year. Ray Mountfort is founder and managing director of Foresta, and Wayne Mulligan is chief executive of NZ Bio Forestry. 

09:45 Middle East correspondent Sebastian Usher

Israel is preparing for an offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah as the UK considers sending its troops to help deliver aid via a new sea route. Sebastian Usher is the Middle East correspondent for the BBC.

10:05 Doctor-turned-comedian Adam Kay on finding the funny in a job he found toxic

Adam Kay has been very open with what turned him off working as a doctor and into a successful writer and comedian. He'd been working as a junior doctor on a labour ward when an incident in surgery went catastrophically wrong.  He kept a diary throughout his medical career, which formed the basis of his wildly popular memoir called This is Going to Hurt - which was made into a TV series. He followed with a sequel called Undoctored, and has also turned to writing children's books - including Kay's Anatomy, Kay's Marvellous Medicine and Kay's Brilliant Brains. He's also turned his work into comedy fodder and This is Going to Hurt will be part of the New Zealand International Comedy Festival in May.

10:35 Book review: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon 

Kim Pittar from Muir's Independent Bookshop in Gisborne reviews The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon published by Simon and Schuster

10:45 Around the motu: David Williams

David looks at documents leaked to health researcher Michael Gousmett that showed the Canterbury arm of Te Whatu Ora had been told to save $13.3m by July. He also details the twists and turns in the fate of this year's A&P show and what's going on with the rebuilds of the city's two prominent cathedrals.

David Williams is Newsroom's Te Waipounamu South Island Correspondent

11:05 Political commentators Fletcher Tabuteau and Gareth Hughes

Fletcher Tabuteau is a former NZ First MP from 2014 to 2020, former deputy leader of the party, and former Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the then Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and the then minister for regional development Shane Jones. He now works for lobbying and communications firm Capital Government Relations.

Gareth Hughes is a former Green MP and now works for the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa. 

11:30 Christchurch's Ōtākaro Orchard Community Garden to open education hub

Beside Christchurch's Avon River, Ōtākaro Orchard Community Garden and Food Forest has 96 different fruit trees, and an underbrush filled berries, herbs and medicinal plants. The trees are often bare, but that's exactly how volunteers want them, encouraging people to come in and forage what they need. Work is underway to complete the Education Hub on site. It will be a centre where people can learn how to grow their own food, cook, utilise community kitchens, and find the 70 community gardens around the city. It will also have a cafe, a green grocer, a demonstration kitchen, a massive outdoor shared kai table, and a hangi pit. Spokesperson Hayley Guglietta is passionate about food resilience, and believes everyone should be able to walk outside and find a meal.

11:45 Off the beaten track with Kennedy Warne

Today Kennedy Warne discusses the proposed Te Kuha opencast coal mine in the hills above Westport getting an invite to have consent considered under the fast-track regime.