Nine To Noon for Thursday 12 September 2024

09:05 Police to take attention away from mental health call outs

Police will soon stop responding to most mental health calls after years of warning the workload was becoming unsustainable. Police Commissioner Andrew Coster signalled the wind down months ago, with a formal notice now issued to Health New Zealand confirming the change. The new response will be staged, beginning with a higher threshold to mental health calls police will respond to. Police will also reduce visits to mental health facilities, responses to welfare checks and family harm call outs. Greg Davies, a registered nurse and mental health worker, tells Kathryn the police move will add more pressure to an already stressed mental health workforce. Police Commissioner Andrew Coster then talks about the transition, expected to take a year. 

09:30 The Wellington teenager who's growing her biodegradable plant pot business

In the tackle to cut down on single use plastic, plant pots may not be the first thing that comes to mind. But in New Zealand alone, we use a whopping 350 million of them a year. When Wellington teenager Elisa Harley discovered this, she set out cut this number down by designing her own biodegradable pots. Enivo Pots are made of forestry waste and are locally produced to avoid travel emissions. The early iteration of the product won awards in the Young Enterprise programme, as well as funding to work with Scion to perfect the product.

09:45 UK: Winter power payment cut to millions of pensioners

UK correspondent Matt Dathan looks at the new government's moves to restrict eligibility for the winter fuel payment, which passed in Parliament despite an attempt to block it. 1700 prisoners were released from their sentences this week in an attempt to ease overcrowded prisons, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer has headed to Washington for key meetings as the US looks see to approve the use of long-range missiles by Ukraine against targets in Russia.

Matt Dathan is Home Affairs Editor at The Times

10:05 Epidemiologist grew up in shadow of rheumatic fever

As Jason Gurney was growing up in South Auckland, there was a permanent long shadow cast over his whanau. His father, Keg, had Rheumatic Fever - contracted as a healthy 14 year old at a weekend rugby tournament.From that initial sore throat, Keg got permanent heart damage. As a teenager, Jason Gurney would often have to drive his dad to Middlemore  hospital emergency room in the middle of the night - it was quicker than getting an ambulance. Those terrifying experiences led Jason Gurney to a career in public health. He is an epidemiologist,  the Director of the Cancer and Chronic Conditions Research Group, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago. Dr Gurney has just published a book about the impact of rheumatic fever on his whanau and of so many others - it's called The Twisted Chain.

10:35 Book review: Edith Collier: Early New Zealand modernist Edited by Jill Trevelyan, Jennifer Taylor and Greg Donson

David Hill reviews Edith Collier: Early New Zealand modernist Edited by Jill Trevelyan, Jennifer Taylor and Greg Donson Published by Massey University Press

10:45 Around the motu : Lee Scanlon in Westport

Lee has the latest on the barge, Manahau which ran aground at Westport's Carters Beach. West Coasters will not be consulted before their weekend GP clinics are replaced with telehealth from 1 October. And a forensic audit of the Buller District Council's controversial Project Management Office has found inadequate management, lack of critical controls, and council claims for costs it was not entitled to.

Westport News Chief Reporter, Lee Scanlon

11:05 Tech: Govt gets a chatbot, Starlink delays hit OneNZ, Ireland tells Apple to pay up

Technology commentator Peter Griffin looks at the government's plans to develop a pilot AI assistant to navigate...government. Has any other country done this, what can citizens expect and what are the risks? Satellite internet service Starlink is facing delays getting clearance for its direct-to-cell service, which in turn is causing delays to local telco's plans to roll out their "text from anywhere" services. And Apple is facing a huge tax bill in Ireland, just a day after it launched its latest product upgrades.

Peter Griffin is a Wellington-based science and technology journalist

11:25 Play with your food, and don't disguise vegetables: surprising tips for picky children

When Jennifer Anderson became a mother, she - like many new parents - realised the uphill battle that can be mealtimes. Getting young kids to eat their greens, voluntarily, isn't always straightforward - and advice on how to encourage them is polarising. Do you force them to sit and finish their plate, bribe them with dessert... and at what point, do you just give up on the brussel sprouts? But Ms Anderson, a registered dietician, took that angst, and honed in on a specialty in feeding children and picky eating. She founded Kids Eat in Color - a resource to help families feed their children, from their first bite of solid food right through to elementary-aged nutrition needs.

 

11:45 Screentime: Kaos, Takeout Kids, Chimp Crazy

Film and TV reviewer Tamar Munch joins Kathryn to talk about Jeff Goldblum as Zeus dealing with his wayward children and fearing for his demise in a very modern-day setting in Kaos (Netflix). Takeout Kids (Spinoff/YouTube) looks at the lives of young Kiwis who have grown up in their parents' restaurants or takeaway shops.  And Chimp Crazy (Neon), is a documentary that looks at a former nurse turned exotic animal owner and the particular challenge of raising chimpanzees.