Nine To Noon for Monday 8 July 2024

09:05 Calls to broaden shingles vaccine funding as at-risk group misses out

People most at risk of developing shingles are missing out on the vaccine, thanks to a specific funding programme which gives 65-year-olds just one year to get immunised for free. Nearly all adults over the age of 50 have the virus dormant in their bodies, and the risk of it developing increases with age. But the current funding programme has a short and very specific window. The first of two doses can be accessed by those aged 65 - but only until their 66th birthday. And people are not covered for the second dose, if they miss out on the first one. Te Whatu Ora says people can expect to pay $600-$800, if they have to pay for the vaccine themselves. Kathryn speaks to geriatrician Dr Tyson Oberndorfer and Jo Millar from Grey Power.

09:25 Concerns about those struggling to pay power bills

An Otago University researcher says the number of those in energy hardship is likely much higher than government officials think. Dr Kimberley O'Sullivan is an energy hardship expert in the Department of Public Health at Otago University and says the figure may be many times the 5.8 percent of homes, or 110,000, that MBIE estimates. According to the Electricity Authority, there were 534 disconnections longer than 24 hours because of non-payment as at the end of May. But just under 30,000 disconnection warnings were sitting with customers. Earlier this year the Electricity Authority strengthened its Consumer Guidelines by making them mandatory from next year. They include rules retailers must apply before any disconnection takes place - such as the practice not allowed at all when there is a medically dependent person involved. Dr O'Sullivan says the disconnection warnings are just the tip of the iceberg. 

09:35 MOTAT's hopes to capture school holiday crowds with new exhibit

Auckland's Museum of Transport and Technology is trying to make science, engineering and mathematics more fun for kids with a massive new facility. It has interactive displays like an energy machine where users can transfer energy from jumping or other ways like hand heat to set off balls to move in the middle of the room. Elsewhere there's an upright rainbow, based on the story of Kupe saw one on his navigation to New Zealand. It took four years to build the site, called Te Puawānanga, which sits across more than 2000-square metres at MOTAT. Julie Baker is the education lead on the project and talks to Kathryn about the museum's hopes to grow interest in STEM subjects among young people.     

09:45 Europe correspondent Seamus Kearney

France's far right has failed to make a breakthrough in snap parliamentary elections. Instead, leftist alliance New Popular Front has come out on top according to exit polls - but if no party gets an absolute majority, how likely is a hung parliament?

10:05  What lies ahead for democracy

There are more people voting in democratic elections this year than ever before. With elections in the US, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, South Africa; the UK and France just this past few days. Pennsylvania State University Distinguished Professor John Gastil, who is also a Senior Scholar at the McCourtney Institute for Democracy was recently in New Zealand at the Reinventing Democracy Symposium, held at the University of Auckland, hosted by Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures. He is among those concerned about risks of authoritarianism to the democratic institutions and framework, that so many countries take for granted, including his own, the United States.  Professor Gastil is also a leading authority on citizens assemblies and other mechanisms for bolstering democratic engagement. He explains his concerns about Donald Trump's refusal to accept outcome of the 2020 US election, and other statements about his intentions were he to become President again after November's election.

10:35 Book review: Wrong Norma by Anne Carson 

Stella Chrysostomou of Volume Books reviews Wrong Norma by Anne Carson published by Jonathan Cape

10:45 Around the motu: Alisha Evans in Tauranga

Tauranga's 15 mayoral candidates have been quizzed ahead of the city's first election in five years. Taller buildings will be permitted in Mount Maunganui now the government has released its decision on controversial planning rules. And speed limits around Tauranga schools are set to lower during drop off and pick up times.

Western Bay of Plenty Local Democracy reporter Alisha Evans based in Tauranga with SunLive 
 

11:05 Political commentators Sue Moroney and Tim Hurdle

Sue Moroney and Tim Hurdle talk about the Prime Minister's networking opportunities as he heads to Washington DC for a NATO summit. ACT has invoked the "agree to disagree" coalition cause over the digital media bill. And, what's in the detail of Chris Bishop's plan for housing - and could alcohol law reform be on the cards as part of the government's mental health targets?

Former Labour MP now Chief Executive of Community Law Centres Aotearoa. Sue is also the chair of the Waikato Labour Electorate Committee.

Tim Hurdle is a former National senior adviser, was the National Party Campaign Director in 2020. He is a director of several companies, including Museum Street Strategies, a public affairs firm.

11:30  What's cooking in the Wellington's development kitchen 

We're going future forward today, with two Wellington chefs who use science to explore what can be achieved with food. Shepherd Elliot and Dale Bowie from the Development Kitchen innovate with flavour and process. The Development Kitchen and what goes on in there is usually off limits to the public, but next month during the Wellington On A Plate event, there is an opportunity for foodies to see first hand explorative cooking techniques.

11:45 Off the beaten track with Kennedy Warne

A momentous decision in Canada as the government of British Columbia passes legislation recognising the Haida Gwaii islands, near the Alaskan border, belong to the indigenous Haida people. And, the curious case of the amputating ants: it's been discovered the Florida carpenter ant can remove a fellow worker's leg if it is injured, to save its life.