Nine To Noon for Wednesday 5 June 2024

09:05 Committee ponders full probe into rural banking

Parliament's primary production select committee is considering a full inquiry into rural banking - with MPs from all sides concerned over what they've heard in preliminary hearings. The committee, chaired by Act MP Mark Cameron, and which includes a number of farmers, has heard in recent weeks from farming advocates, individual farmers and banks. Federated Farmers told MPs farmers believe they are paying unfairly high interest rates, that there is a lack of competition in the rural sector and that banks are generally pulling back from rural lending. Banks deny this. But Mark Cameron told The Post the banks came across as arrogant, and MPs were dissatisfied by their answers. He's indicated a fuller probe may be on the cards. Kathryn speaks with National Party MP and deputy chair of the Primary Production Select Committee - Miles Anderson - about to head into a Woolshed meeting with farmers, and Green Party MP and committee member Steve Abel.

09:20 Te Whatu Ora responds to nurses' safety concerns as it 'reduces overspend'

The Nurses Organisation says its members fear the directive from Health NZ/Te Whatu Ora to save $105m across hospitals by July will put their own safety, and that of patients, at risk. Health New Zealand has suggested the savings could come from not  providing cover for sick staff, stopping double shifts, and cutting back on overtime. It says the move is about reducing overspend, not making cuts. The New Zealand Nurses Organisation has written to Health NZ's chief people officer, to share nurses' concerns of the impact of the cutting of cover. Nurses say they're already burning out and leaving the sector. Te Whatu Ora chief people officer Andrew Slater joins Kathryn Ryan.

09:35 The Auckland startup making milk protein in a lab 

An Auckland startup has been approved to scale up its production of dairy proteins using genetically modified yeasts. Daisy Lab uses precision fermentation to make whey or casein products. Those are then used to make things like ice cream or cheeses with much the same flavour and feel as cow-derived versions. The big win is the lab-grown proteins have 90 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions per unit Daisy Lab's technique also means it could fit into existing dairy industry plant. The startup, founded in 2020 by Irina Miller, Nikki Freed and Emily McIsaac is now working towards building a small plant, with the scale-up approval, it can produce batches of 5000 litres. Irina Miller is chief executive of Daisy Lab. 

09:45 Australia: Kiwi recruits, visa cancellations, disability rip-off

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton talks about New Zealanders being able to join the Australian Defence Force as part of a solution to retention in the military. Who's eligible? The Immigration Minister has been cancelling visas in the wake of calls for his resignation over the issues of foreign nationals convicted of crimes and facing deportation - many of them to New Zealand. And dodgy disability service providers have been forcing people to use their funding to buy illicit drugs and gift cards and hand over the money.

Karen Middleton is political editor of the Guardian Australia

10:05 The M Word : Menopause

 Dr Ginni Mansberg is a GP who specialises in women's and children's health. Her latest book is a revised and updated version of The M Word - how to thrive in menopause. She takes a no holds barred look at menopause and how it can affect not only the women going through it, but also those around them.

10:35 Book review: Long Island by Colm Toibin 

Sonja de Friez reviews Long Island by Colm Toibin published by Macmillan

10:45 Around the motu : John Freer from the Coromandel Peninsula

John discusses the issues facing the Hauraki Gulf Forum and their response to the last week’s Budget. And, the local Ratepayers Alliance has written to the Thames Coromandel Mayor requesting a significant change to how the council works and connects with local communities and their respective community boards. 

John Freer is a CFM local news reporter 

11:05 Music with Kirsten Zemke: Songs about cities

Music commentator Kirsten Zemke joins Kathryn to look at which cities have inspired songs of their own - including perhaps, a surprising New Zealand contribution.

Kirsten Zemke is an ethnomusicologist at the University of Auckland's School of Social Sciences.

11:20 Gardening with Xanthe White

Landscape gardener Xanthe White on the pros and cons of staking and garden frames.

11:45 Science: Tiny fern - big genome, Saudi stromatolites, giraffe necks

Science commentator Allan Blackman joins Kathryn to talk about the New Caledonian fork fern which now holds the record for the largest amount of DNA stored in its nucleus of any living organism on the planet. He'll also look at the stromatolites found in Saudi Arabia that are believed to be the earliest geological record of life on Earth. And it turns out the evolution of the length of giraffe's neck was driven by food, not sex.

Allan Blackman is a Professor of Chemistry, School of Science, Auckland University of Technology.