Nine To Noon for Wednesday 10 July 2024

09:05 Building expert says there are caveats to remote inspections

The building consents manager at Auckland Council has reservations about remote inspections becoming the industry's default practice. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk announced yesterday the Government is working on making remote inspections the default approach from building consent authorities when a home is being built. The minister says the current consenting system is cumbersome with long delays while remote inspections can make building easier and cheaper. Auckland Council's building consents manager Ian McCormick says while remote inspections have their benefits. He told me earlier inspectors still need to be on site in many instances.  

09:25 Mark Cairns pulls out of "farcical" process for Fletcher Building chair

Mark Cairns , chair of Freightways and long time former Chief Executive of Port of Tauranga, has pulled out of the running to be chair of beleaguered Fletcher Building, describing the process as "farcical". Fletcher Building's Chief Executive Ross Taylor resigned in February, and chairman Bruce Hassall in March, after the company posted a dismal half year loss of $120 million.  Mr Cairns' says he's pulled out after a three and a half month recruitment process for the role of chair, and says employees and shareholders deserve better. Kathryn speaks with Chief Executive of the Shareholders' Association, Oliver Mander.

09:35 Campaign to ban private jets targets Wellington fliers

Airline passengers landing in Wellington yesterday afternoon may've noticed an alteration to the capital's hillside sign. Campaigners from climate action group 350 Aotearoa added a banner underneath the 'Wellington' sign that reads 'End Private Jets'. The group says private jet use in New Zealand has more than doubled over the past decade - and that's helping to increase the country's carbon emissions. Indeed a 2021 study by the European Federation for Transport and Environment put the carbon emissions from private jets at 5 to 14 times that of commercial planes per passenger. 350 Aotearoa also says each private jet flight pays a third of the fees that commercial flights pay. Kathryn speaks to Paul Callister, an aviation emissions expert and Adam Currie is a strategic advisor with 350 Aotearoa.

09:45 Thumbs up! The Kiwi who created a new appendage (and why it's handy) 

What could you do with a third thumb? A New Zealander at Cambridge University, Dani Clode has built a prosthetic you can wear on your hand - strapping in opposite your other thumb. It connects with controls at your feet. Recent research has found her third thumb was incredibly useable - 98 percent of nearly 600 people who trialed the 'Third Thumb' successfully operated it and performed a task. She developed the third thumb to increase the wearer's range of movement and improve grasping capability - extending the carrying capacity of the hand. Dani is head designer and senior technical specialist at Cambridge University's Plasticity Lab.  

10:05 Australia: Exiled Senator could start Muslim party, disability scheme sex ban

 Australia correspondent Chris Niesche joins Kathryn to talk about Fatima Payman's decision to quit Labour after she was temporarily suspended for indicating she could cross the floor a second time to vote with the Greens on a motion to support a Palestinian state. Could she form a Muslim political party? The federal government has decided to ban sex work from being funded under the National Disability Insurance Scheme - but the disability sector says that robs participants of free choice. And a full audit of all internet-facing technology  used by Commonwealth agencies will be conducted amid fears of foreign interference and influence.

10:10 Olympians on the final stretch until Paris 

It's just a couple of weeks before about two hundred of New Zealand's top athletes suit up for the Paris Olympics, and the final training regimes are in full force. Raglan-based surfer Billy Stairmand is competing in the games for a second time, but he's not heading to Paris. The surfing heats are being held fifteen thousand kilometres away from Paris, in Tahiti. Billy Stairmand's Olympic debut was in Tokyo, which was the first time surfing was included in the games - he placed ninth. For diver Lizzie Roussel, the Paris games are also her second time competing at the Olympic level. She was the first New Zealand diver to compete at the Olympic Games in 24 years when she contested the three-metre springboard diving event in Rio on her 18th birthday. She later qualified for the Tokyo games, but pulled out when she found out she was pregnant. Billy and Lizzie chat to Kathryn about whether they're managing to keep calm with just weeks to go. 

10:35 Book review: Night of Power by Robert Fisk 

Dean Bedford reviews Night of Power by Robert Fisk published by HarperCollins NZ

10:45 Around the motu: Jean Edwards in Christchurch

Jean looks at Antarctica New Zealand's reworked plans for the Scott Base redevelopment and what it could mean for Timaru. There's been issues with aggressive begging in Christchurch city, what's the council proposing to deal with it? And rates rises under the Christchurch City Council's long term plan have been locked in.

11:05 Music with Charlotte Ryan

Music 101 host Charlotte Ryan joins me to celebrate the Jesus and Mary Chain ahead of their NZ show this month and she'll also feature new music from Karl Steven - film composer and former frontman for 90s Kiwi band Supergroove.

Charlotte is host of RNZ's Music 101 show

11:20 Experts warn NZ forest understorey at risk of irreversible damage

New research shows forest-destroying threats are on the rise while investment in conservation wanes. A Landcare Research paper out this week warns weed invasions are eating away at large swathes of forest undergrowth. Scientists have also been raising the alarm about an explosion in deer, goat and pig populations. And diseases like Myrtle Rust are burning through old trees, with the goal of eradication long gone. Meanwhile, conservation funding has been slashed by 21 percent, dropping by $152 million for 2026-2027. Peter Bellingham is a senior researcher at Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, and speaks to Kathryn about the irreversible damage that may lie ahead.

11:45 Personal finance: Should Kiwis invest more in NZ infrastructure?

Money expert David Boyle joins Kathryn to consider the question of whether more should be done to encourage investment through KiwiSaver into local infrastructure. He cites KiwiSaver providers' moves during the 2008/09 financial crisis as an example of what benefits can be brought through the scheme when needed. 

 David Boyle is a financial services commentator and Director of LYW Consulting Limited