Nine To Noon for Thursday 22 August 2024

 

 

09:05 Transpower eases generators' water take amid power crunch

Transpower has announced this morning it will allow generators to take more water from hydro lakes to help with the electricity crunch. Generators will be allowed to breach consents to access contingent lake storage. Transpower says if conditions worsen,  it may call on the public to conserve electricity use, to help free up supply. Kathryn speaks to Transpower's Executive general manager of operations, Chantelle Bramley, Mercury's chief executive Vince Hawkesworth and energy economist Stephen Poletti.

09:25 Flight disruption from Whakaari/White Island eruption

Bay of Plenty reporter Alisha Evans joins Kathryn to talk about the flight disruption across the Bay of Plenty from continued eruption at Whakaari/White Island.

09:35 Milestone marked for NZ's first 'wet house' - Te Pā Maru

New Zealand's first 'wet house' -  Te Pā Maru - will celebrate its one-year anniversary next month. It's a significant milestone for a project that has been decades in the making, having faced political knockbacks and financial woes since planning began in 2009. However, in September 2023, after a major $6 million refurbishment by Wellington City Mission, the first-of-its-kind facility opened its doors on Wellington's Taranaki St. With 18 ensuite bedrooms and round-the-clock staffing, Te Pā Maru provides homeless men with chronic alcoholism a secure home and access to wraparound services, while allowing them to drink on site. Wellington City Missioner Murray Edridge says abstinence is a very high bar for some people, and addiction should not exclude them from access to secure housing. He speaks to Kathryn. 

09:45 UK: Superyacht latest, GCSE 'anxiety', Shetlands rocket explosion, Trump and the Queen

UK correspondent Matthew Parris has the latest on the sinking of the Kiwi-captained superyacht belonging to a British tech entrepreneur. He looks at business concern over plans for an expansion of union powers, the heightened mental health concerns of GCSE candidates, the spectacular explosion of a rocket during a test at the UK's new Shetland spaceport and was Donald Trump rude to the late Queen?

10:05 Don Schwass, NZ's go-to dog tracker 

After decades of searching for people lost in the wilderness, Don Schwass has found fame in recent years for his finding expertise. However, his status as a go-to tracker isn't for locating 'man', but for finding 'man's best friend'. It's the Richmond fish & chippie owner's skills in hunting down wayward hounds that has his phone ringing off the hook. Following Schwass' advice has seen roaming dogs reunited with their owners even after weeks of wandering. It's not only within in Aotearoa that his skills are put to the test, either. Last month, Schwass helped a Queensland family successfully find their dog Turbo, a full five weeks after he went missing. Schwass speaks to Kathryn about how he became the 'go-to dog guy' and why his curious tip for locating lost dogs is: don't try find it. 

10:35 Book review: Age Less by Greg Macpherson 

Cynthia Morahan reviews Age Less by Greg Macpherson published by Upstart Press         

10:45 Around the motu : Peter de Graaf in Northland

Peter details the healthcare crisis engulfing Northland and talks to Kathryn about the mysterious zombie fish turning up in the Kaipara Harbour. 
 

11:05 Technology: Starlink's rural impact, dating apps dive, Snoo sub fury

Technology commentator Bill Bennett joins Kathryn to talk about the latest Telecommunications Monitoring Report and the many gaps between urban and rural areas. Many of those gaps are being plugged by SpaceX's Starlink network, however new research suggests low-Earth orbits could be undermining the progress we've made repairing the ozone layer. The value of dating app companies is plummeting - why are young people turning off them? And a Snoo bassinet uses the latest tech (at a hefty price) to keep babies snoozing - but a decision to introduce subscription fees hasn't impressed parents.

Bill Bennett is an Auckland-based technology journalist.

 

11:25 Parenting : the impact of traditional masculinity on boys

11:45 Screentime: It Ends with Us, We Were Dangerous, The Decameron

Film and TV commentator Perlina Lau joins Kathryn to talk about We Were Dangerous, written by Maddie Dai, who was interviewed on Nine to Noon last year. Set in New Zealand in 1954, it follows a group of teenage girls who have been institutionalised. She also looks at The Decameron, based on a 14th century book about the effects of the bubonic plague on Florence, and a group of ten elites trying to escape it. And It Ends with Us has attracted a lot of controversy involving its star, Blake Lively. But is it any good?

Perlina Lau is co-host of RNZ's Culture 101 programme