Nine To Noon for Wednesday 20 November 2024

 

09:05 Blind and disabled advocate to quit NZ in frustration

An award winning disability advocate, honored for services to the blind community, is quitting New Zealand saying it is the worst country in the western world in which to be blind. Jonathan Mosen is well known to Nine to Noon listeners as a regular commentator on assistive technology. He has been CEO of Workbridge, the largest employment service for disabled people. He has led product management at two of the world's leading blindness technology companies. Jonathan Mosen has served as President of Blind Citizens and been on the board of the Foundation of the Blind. Early next year, he and his wife will leave New Zealand for the United States, where he is to become Executive Director for Accessibility Excellence at the National Federation of the Blind, the largest advocacy group of blind people. Jonathan tells Kathryn he's frustrated that there are no disabled MPs, some agencies for disabled people don't have disabled leadership,  and the believes the sector is chronically underfunded.

09:25 Anti-microbial resistance - can new gen drugs offer hope?

It's estimated about 1.2 million people die around the world each year from drug resistant infections, with the number predicted to balloon to 10m by 2050. Known scientifically as anti-microbial resistance or AMR, researchers from Auckland University call it a silent pandemic. Last year they set up a dedicated Centre for Antimicrobial Research which this week is hosting a symposium bringing together top experts to shine a light on the growing and largely unrecognised threat drug resistance poses in Aotearoa. Associate Professor Ghader Bashiri from the University's School of Biological Sciences says more funding is needed to reduce the risks, and give New Zealanders access to new generation antibiotics.

09:35 Brokers unhappy with home loan wait times 

Mortgage brokers are unhappy with the time it is taking banks to turn around home loan applications, stressing buyers. One broker told RNZ applications take eight to 15 working days to be processed. That is longer than some houses are on the market for. It is also leading to situations where the broker had sent customers to the bank directly, losing out on a commssion for the work she had done. David Cunningham, chief executive of mortgage brokers Squirrel, says the problem is that banks' broker processing teams are under-resourced and banks have more capacity to deal with customers coming directly to them. ANZ says it does not favour direct customers over brokers, but that an application turnaround time depended on its complexity and the volume of applications. BNZ did say broker applications can take longer because of differences in information gathering between mortgage brokers and in-house brokers. David Cunningham talks to Kathryn.

09:45 Australia: More charges against Alan Jones, Coalition votes against student cap

Australia correspondent Bernard Keane joins Kathryn to talk about more charges being laid against former radio host Alan Jones - he now faces 26 charges against nine alleged victims. In a surprise move, the Coalition has announced it'll vote against Labor's bill to cap international student numbers. And the Albanese government says it's willing to consider Coalition amendments to proposed limits on political donations and disclosure thresholds.

Bernard Keane is political editor for Crikey.com

10:05 First time novelist Michael Deagler on the story of a newly sober 26 year-old man

Michael Deagler had read a lot of stories about alcoholism before he wrote one on sobriety. Going sober himself made him interested in the topic, but he didn't want to add to the growing stack of memoirs - instead, Early Sobrieties follows a 26 year old man attempting to get his life back on track. Narrator Dennis Monk doesn't get a 'happily ever after' from giving up booze - instead he finds himself couch surfing, doing odd jobs for old college friends, and tagging along on adventures. He acts as an outsider to the Philadelphia city he's just moved back to, criticising the growing population of hipsters and newly built houses. Michael Deagler speaks to Kathryn.

10:35 Book review: Orbital by Samantha Harvey 

Stella Chrysostomou of Volume Books reviews Orbital by Samantha Harvey published by Vintage

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

Peter discusses the latest events in Northland including the first ever “State of the Far North” address, the only lift at the Bay of Islands Hospital breaking down, the crowning of New Zealand's favourite plant, and the efforts of Kaitaia townspeople to prepare for the reopening of State Highway 1.

Peter de Graaf is a RNZ Northland reporter.

11:05 Music with Kirsten Zemke: Songs that are outta this world!

Music correspondent Kirsten Zemke joins Kathryn to share a little cosmic love - songs that talk about trying to find a connection with whoever or whatever might be found in space.

Kirsten Zemke is an ethnomusicologist at the University of Auckland's School of Social Sciences.

11:20 Artist Yhonnie Scarce on the military tests that inflame her glassworks

From the mid-50s to early 1960s parts of Australia played host to the UK's nuclear ambitions. It undertook twelve major nuclear weapons tests - some of which resulted in mushroom clouds up to 14-thousand metres high which blew radioactive dust across the country. Most of the tests - including 200 minor ones -  were conducted the Maralinga site in South Australia. And that's not far from where Yhonnie Scarce was born. She's a contemporary artist of Kokatha and Nukunu peoples, renowned for her large-scale glass installations. Her work is on display at The Dowse, with an exhibition called Night Blindness. It references what happened in South Australia and the impact it had on the Aboriginal communities there. 

11:45 Science: Rethink of Uranus' moons, small spaces + food

Science correspondent Allan Blackman looks at a new analysis of Uranus and its five biggest moons that's found it might not be as sterile as first thought. Researchers have found being in a confined space can really alter how people respond to certain food aromas and the editor-in-chief of Scientific American has stepped down after a backlash to her social media posts made on US election night.

Allan Blackman is a Professor of Chemistry, School of Science, Auckland University of Technology