Nine To Noon for Thursday 13 June 2024

09:05 RBNZ continuing work on cash trials for small towns

The Reserve Bank is moving ahead with a trial partnering with retailers in eight small towns using smart ATMs to provide more cash services. They would be fee-free cash outs to customers - with or without purchase - and provide local cash deposit and withdrawal facilities. The central bank says smaller communities lack over-the-counter or ATM cash services and the trial is an attempt to remedy that. Eighty towns have expressed interest in being part of the experiment - eight towns in two districts will be selected. This comes as two Parliamentary select committees are probing the banking sector, including one focussing on rural banking. Reserve Bank director of money and cash, Ian Woolford, speaks to Kathryn about what comes next in their research.

09:15 Kiwi researchers find VR headsets help women in labour manage their pain 

A New Zealand study out this morning has found virtual reality headsets can help ease pain and anxiety for women in labour. Nineteen women were given VR headsets with four relaxing scenes they could "escape" to, including being underwater with dolphins and on a beach. Participants in the study reported virtual reality as been an effective form of distraction, particularly in the early stages of labour.  Lorna Massov is a midwifery lecturer at Victoria University's School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Practice and is the lead author of the research.

09:30 Scientists return from visit to Tongan super volcano that erupted in 2022

GNS scientists have just returned from leading a voyage to a super volcano that erupted near Tonga in 2022. The January 2022 eruption of the Hunga submarine volcano was the largest recorded since Krakatoa in 1883. It sent a tsunami that reached Japan and the Americas, and devastated the main island of Tonga, Tongatapu - damaging homes and infrastructure, as well as killing three people. GNS says New Zealand has several volcanoes similar in profile to the Hunga within its Exclusive Economic Zone. The voyage landed back in Wellington onboard the RV Tangaroa on Wednesday after a month away and collected geological, geophysical and water column data from inside the crater. GNS scientist Cornel de Ronde led the trip.

09:45 UK: Reform UK polling just behind Tories, economic growth flat

UK correspondent Matthew Parris joins Kathryn to look at new polling that puts the Reform UK party just one point behind the Conservatives. Labour remains more than 20 points ahead of the Tories with a month of campaigning to go. Matthew assesses the Tory manifesto launch and Rishi Sunak's performance so far. And economic growth has fallen flat in April, with the rain being blamed.

10:05  Minnijean Brown-Trickey on her historic part in desegregation

In September 1957 Minnijean Brown-Trickey was one of nine African American students who entered Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Until that moment the school had been for white students only. She and her fellow students walked into the school - protected by paratroopers, on the orders of President Eisenhower, as an earlier attempt to enter had been blocked by a mob of white residents. The US Supreme Court had banned segregation three years earlier, but die-hard segregationists in the southern states dug in as long as they could. 16 year old Minnijean Brown-Trickey and her group became known as the Little Rock Nine, and that day marked the beginning of the end of racial segregation in US schools. She went on to become a social worker, activist, and social justice advocate, a presidential appointee in the Clinton Administration, and been the subject of two movies. She is in New Zealand on a speaking tour, including with secondary schools here and speaks with Kathryn Ryan.

 

10:35 Book review: The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley 

Carole Beu of the Women's Bookshop reviews The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley published by Hachette. Kathryn interviewed Kaliane last week on Nine to Noon.

10:45 Around the motu : Piers Fuller in Wairarapa

After eight years of back-and-forth over plans for a new town hall, or replacement civic centre, Masterton District Council is to spend $44 million on a new town hall, and extensions to the library and council buildings. Mayor Gary Caffell had long advocated keeping the façade of the town hall after the historic building was deemed earthquake prone in 2016. And a hillside farm overlooking Martinborough is welcoming well-heeled foreigners, and New Zealanders. The owners of Rapaki farm have carved the 184ha property into 39 four-hectare units with a view to attracting "high net worth" clients wanting to build their grand design.

Piers Fuller has been reporting in Wairarapa for 20 years. He's a senior journalist with The Post based in Masterton.
 

11:05 Tech: Ticketmaster hack update, Apple system aims to keep AI data safe in the cloud

Cyber security expert Tony Grasso looks at the latest on the Ticketmaster data breach which has affected other customers of cloud storage provider Snowflake. Meanwhile Apple says its new Private Cloud Compute (PCC) will keep cloud-processed AI data safe. Tony looks at how it works and the new technique called Oblivious HTTP that hides a user's IP address. And a new phishing attack tricks people into downloading malware by posing as job applicants with a dodgy CV. Is phishing getting more targeted?

Tony Grasso is Principal Consultant at cybersecurity firm TitaniumDefence. He worked at GCHQ in the UK and is a former Intelligence Officer in New Zealand.

 

11:25 Parenting: navigating kids and devices

When Rob and Zareen Cope's four children began wanting phones and screens, the pair decided to dive into the research.  They travelled overseas talking with experts and made a documentary. Today, the Cope's company - Our Kids Online - educates parents about the dangers of handheld devices and the internet-age, and how best to mitigate them.  They spoke to around 500 parents in Wellington last night.

11:45 Screentime: Presumed Innocent, Under the Bridge, Brokenwood Mysteries s10

Film and TV correspondent Tamar Munch joins Kathryn to talk about a remake of Harrison Ford movie Presumed Innocent, this time as a limited series on Apple TV+ starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a prosecutor accused of killing his lover. She'll also review Under the Bridge, which is based on a Canadian true crime story streaming on Disney+ and the 10th season of The Brokenwood Mysteries.