Nine To Noon for Wednesday 19 June 2024

 

09:05 ACC review delays harming injured claimants : Lawyer and advocate

An ACC lawyer and advocate is taking legal action against ACC, saying injured claimants are losing jobs and homes while they wait more than six months to have disputed decisions reviewed and resolved. Figures released by ACC under the OIA show the average duration of a review process is around 200 days, and even longer in cases where a decision is reached. Warren Forster is a lawyer specialising in ACC, and founder of the conciliation service ACC Advocacy. He has filed Judicial Review proceedings in the High Court asking that ACC be required to follow its own policies,  and use alternative dispute resolution, which can solve disputes more quickly and at lower cost, than a full review. Mr Forster says instead of following its policy, ACC is forcing claimants into the clogged-up review process. What's more, he says the dispute resolution service currently getting the best results,  will no longer be available after July 1, as ACC has not renewed its contract. Kathryn speaks with Mr Forster and two claimants. ACC declined to appear on Nine to Noon, citing the current legal proceedings.

 

09:30 The benefits of mixing agriculture and solar power - as Selwyn site gets consent

 A solar and battery power station to be built on farmland in Selwyn has been given planning consent. The Kea X and Ethical Power project will have solar panels spread across 104-hectares near Rolleston and have a generating capacity of 100-gigawatt-hours - and have a battery to store the energy. The land is being leased from farmers and converted from cattle to sheep grazing, with livestock living in and around the panels. The project is a downsizing of a previous plan the company Kea X had to build a 258-hectare solar farm that missed out on resource consent last year. It comes as Alan Brent - chair in sustainable energy systems at Victoria University - makes the case for 'agrivoltaics' - a farm that also generates electricity via photovoltaic panels. He says large tracks of the country - notably in Canterbury, Taranaki and Waikato - are well suited for this. They can help land with water retention and reduce the need for irrigation while producing much needed electricity, he says. Campbell McMath, managing director at Kea X,  talks to Kathryn about their imminent build. 

09:45 Australia: Panda diplomacy and Crocodile Hunter's son threatens to sue

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton looks at the visit to Australia of Chinese Premier Li Qiang - the first in eight years - that held high hopes on both sides of stabilising relations between the nations. There was a bit of panda diplomacy, with the offer of two new pandas for Adelaide zoo, but also tension when a Chinese official tried to obstruct the view of a formerly detained Australian journalist. Opposition leader Peter Dutton is set to unveil his much-touted policy to throw out a long-standing moratorium on nuclear power in Australia and Robert Irwin, son of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, has threatened to sue One Nation after it used his cartoon likeness - along with Bluey - in a satirical video about the state of Queensland.

Karen Middleton is political editor of the Guardian Australia

10:05 Ariane Beeston and her brave account of postpartum psychosis

Ariane Beeston was a child protection worker and newly registered psychologist when she gave birth to her first child. In the months that followed she experienced psychosis, to the extent that at one stage she thought her baby was a dragon. She kept her symptoms to herself, afraid of losing her baby, and ashamed of what she was feeling and experiencing. Utimately,  Ariane Beeston was diagnosed with post-partum psychosis.  With medication, talk therapy, time and huge support from her husband and family, she recovered. She now works in perinatal mental health and has written a candid memoir Because I am Not Myself, You See.

10:35 Book review: Mania by Lionel Shriver

Kim Pittar from Muir's Independent Bookshop Gisborne reviews Mania by Lionel Shriver, published by Hemlock Press

10:45 Around the motu : Jimmy Ellingham covering Manawatu

Massey University has pulled the plug on online supervised exams this semester -  after major issues faced by students trying to sit exams hit disruptive computer troubles. Some students are applying for impaired grades or aegrotat passes. And a student has launched a petition to ditch online supervised exams all together.

Jimmy Ellingham is RNZ's Checkpoint reporter based in Palmerston North  

11:05 Music with Dave Wilson

Dave signs off from his time at New York University by looking at three tracks that are connected to research being done by colleagues there. All the tracks connect to New York, but also many other places around the world. 

Dave Wilson is a saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, and interdisciplinary scholar, a Senior Lecturer in Music at the New Zealand School of Music-Te Kōkī

11:20 How and when to discuss the tough topics with ageing relatives

Having conversations with older relatives about ageing, and all that comes with it, can be tough, but necessary. New Zealand's population is ageing rapidly. Statistics NZ predicts that 26% of people will be over the age of 65 by 2048. And within that 65+ age group, it's estimated one in five people will be above the age of 85. An Otago University study from 2023 found an increasing number of people are failing to consult their family members fully when deciding to move them into residential care. The survey, on those who had been moved into a home, found the majority did not choose to move, and the decision was made instead by their family or GP following a medical emergency. So how do we broach those crucial - but sensitive - topics with our loved ones, to help fully prepare them for retirement living, arranging finances, end-of-life care, and death? Age Concern CEO Karen Billings-Jensen speaks with Kathryn Ryan.

11:45 Personal finance: Tax time - what you need to know

Money expert Lisa Dudson joins Kathryn to talk tax. Are you getting a refund or a tax bill this year? And what puts you in line for either? How long to do you have to sort out payment, if you're one of the unlucky ones?

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