Nine To Noon for Thursday 28 November 2024

09:05 Councillors worry public transport use could tank if fares rise 

Local councils fear public transport fare rises will see patronage plummet after a directive to pick up a greater share of the cost of buses and trains. The Transport Agency has written to local councils and transport authorities asking them to increase their private share...from tickets sales and advertising, rather than from rates or government fundingNZTA wants councils to raise this share from just over 20 per cent now, to as high as 40 per cent by 2027. In Wellington, a traveller spending $10 a day on Metlink fares would have to spend $17 a day under the new rates. In Canterbury where there has been a two dollar flat fare since last year - could rise to as much as eight dollars a ride.Kathryn speaks to Deon Swiggs, the deputy chair of Environment Canterbury, Alexa Forbes an Otago Regional councillor who is co-chair of the public and active transport committee, and Auckland deputy mayor Desley Simpson. 

09:20 Parents-to-be worried by demise of ante-natal class provider

The demise of the country's largest provider of childbirth and parenting classes has left some expectant parents worried. Parent Centre has offered ante-natal and parenting classes around the country for more than 70 years. Earlier this week the charitable trust announced it is closing in December due to "financial and resourcing challenges".  Parents-to-be who are enrolled in courses from the new year, will have to find an alternative. Parent Centre says it encourages parents to connect with its independent educators through its website. Yasemine Kavas lives in Titahi Bay, near Porirua, north of Wellington. She's 22 weeks pregnant,  and is now struggling to find a alternative pre-birth class, as the one she was enrolled in, will not go ahead. Kathryn also speaks with Nelson antenatal tutor Amelia Crundwell.

09:30 Tourism company's pest control boosts beetle biodiversity

An adventure tourism business set high in the air has found great success in conservation efforts down on the ground. Rotorua Canopy Tours has operated in the Okoheriki or Dansey Road Scenic Reserve site since 2012, as part of a partnership with DoC. As tourists zip through the trees, they pass over nearly 800 traps the company's set as part of massive pest eradication programme. Now two years of monitoring by Scion Research has discovered predator control has proving beneficial to the area's bug life. Carl Wardhaugh, an entomologist with Scion Research explains what they found and Paul Button, general manager of Rotorua Canopy Tours, talks to the company's ongoing pest eradication efforts.

09:45 UK: Smoking ban moves forward, EV rules relaxed, election petition

UK correspondent Dan Bloom looks at how plans to ban smoking for anyone born from 2009 onwards are moving full steam ahead - despite their champion, former PM Rishi Sunak declining to partake in the first vote and the new Tory leader voting against. Ministers plan to relax the UK's EV rules after lobbying from the car industry. And a petition for a fresh election just months after the first has had nearly 3 million signatures.

Dan Bloom is senior author of Politico's London Playbook 

10:05 Sandra Corbett: on a mission to eliminate cervical cancer

Sandra Corbett (Te Arawa, Ngati Pikiao) has been on the front line of public health for the last 30 years - much of it in cervical screening and immunisation. She began her nursing career in the late 80s,  and shortly after the National Cervical Screening Programme came into being in 1990,  she trained as a nurse smear taker. Three decades later, she is kaiwhakahaere of the Hawkes Bay Cervical Screening team. Sandra Corbett came from humble beginnings in a large working class Rotorua whanau, who whakapapa to Te Arawa and Ngati Pikiao. She says a new HPV self test to detect for cervical cancer is game changer, but many Maori and Pasifika women are still underscreened, and she wants to reach every one of them.

10:35 Book review: Gliff by Ali Smith 

Jenna Todd of Time Out Bookstore reviews Gliff by Ali Smith published by Hamish Hamilton

10:45 Around the motu: Libby Kirkby McLeod in Waikato

Libby updates us on the latest in Waikato including Kinleith Mill proposed job losses, Te Awamutu paper may close after more than 100 years, Human remains in Tokoroa have been identified and the Santa Parade is coming back.

Libby Kirkby McLeod is a RNZ Waikato Reporter

11:05 Technology: How AI is being used to conduct and thwart cyber attacks

Tech commentator Tony Grasso looks at how AI is being harnessed to monitor access patterns and identify anomalies that could signal a potential security breach. It's also being used by North Korean hackers to steal money, by creating fake profiles on LinkedIn and other platforms. Meanwhile the UK government is warning Russia is ready to launch cyber attacks on the UK and its allies to try to weaken support for Ukraine.

Tony Grasso is Principal Consultant at cybersecurity firm TitaniumDefence. He worked at GCHQ in the UK and is a former Intelligence Officer in New Zealand.

11:25 Understanding self-obsessed, defiant and unmotivated teens

Neuroscience educator and parenting coach Nathan Wallis says if your teenager seems self-obsessed, defiant and unmotivated, you're not alone.  He says understanding the changes that are happening for your teen can help parents navigate these important and formative years. Nathan is speaking about the Teen Brain in Auckland next month. Details here.

11:45 Screentime: Joy, In Cold Water: The Shelter Bay Mystery, Ludwig

Film and TV correspondent Tamar Munch joins Kathryn to talk about Joy (Netflix), a film which looks at the core team behind the development of IVF and stars Bill Nighy, James Norton and Kiwi Thomasin McKenzie. She'll also look at In Cold Water: The Shelter Bay Mystery (SkyGo, Prime Video) which examines the death of Canadian teacher Laura Lett-Beckett and her New Zealand husband accused of her murder. And Ludwig (TVNZ+ from Dec 1) sees a reclusive puzzle designer pose as his twin brother in his police role after he disappears.