Nine To Noon for Wednesday 11 December 2024

09:05 Local casinos concerns over upcoming online gambling changes 

Local casino operators say they could miss out on a licence to operate online, as they prepare to square up against large offshore operators with deep pockets. The government has released more information on how it proposes to regulate online gambling - mainly as a way to secure tax revenue. It plans to issue 15 licences for online casino operators, that will be competed for at auction. There are close to double that amount already operating in New Zealand - via an offshore base - so competition is expected to be tight. The licences will come with strict requirements such as age verification, harm minimisation and tax-paying obligations. But both SkyCity and Christchurch casinos - who currently offer online gambling via their Malta-based operations - say their chances of securing one of these licences to operate in their own country - is far from a sure thing. Kathryn Ryan speaks to SkyCity chief executive Jason Walbridge, Christchurch Casino chief executive Brett Anderson and AUT Gambling and Addictions Research Centre director Maria Bellringer. 

09:30 Lawyers' worried for safety in 'pressure cooker' court houses 

Courtrooms are becoming increasingly dangerous, lawyers say, as calls for better security ramp up. In March 2023 Family Court lawyer Brintyn Smith was brutally attacked in the Whangārei courthouse lift, leaving him with multiple injuries, including a fractured sternum, nose and thyroid, extensive bruising to the face and a concussion. In May a lawyer was attacked in the Levin courthouse, and in early September an Auckland barrister waiting in a corridor at the Auckland District Court was punched to the ground, kicked in the head and stomped on. The Law Association says many lawyers are fearful of attacks, due to the rising number of unpredictable and unruly people coming through the court system and the physical design of most courthouses that offers little to no protection. Julie-Anne Kincade KC, recently helped organise a security and safety induction for lawyers and court staff at the Auckland District Court, and says many there voiced strong concerns about critical yet easily fixable issues. Julie-Anne is also the Vice-President at The Law Association and Convenor of its Criminal Law Committee.

09:45 Australia: Synagogue firebombing, student exam leak, native species loss

Australia correspondent Annika Smethurst looks at the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue at the weekend which is being treated as an act of terrorism and has prompted criticism of the government's response. Students in Victoria have been affected by a publishing error which saw a number of exams released online - now 69 students have been found to have anomalous results. And a new study has found Australia is losing up to three native insects and invertebrates to extinction every week.

Annika Smethurst is political editor at The Age

10:05 Muddy footprints show how early human species lived side by side

Scientists have always known that two relatives of today's humans existed on Earth at the same period of time - but whether the two different species of hominin ever met or interacted was unknown. Now a recent discovery proves not only did they meet - they co-existed and possibly even worked together in the same region for thousands of years. Two sets of footprints made 1.5 million years ago found by explorers were found to have been made within days, maybe even hours or minutes of each other. Analysis showed the footprints were made by individuals with different gaits and stances, which experts believe to be Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei - both members of the hominin family tree. Kevin Hatala is a paleoanthropologist who studies the evolution of human locomotion. He is an associate professor of biology with Chatham University and is one of the team who made the discovery. He speaks to Kathryn Ryan.

10:35 Book review: Unreel: A Life in Review by Diana Wichtel 

David Hill reviews Unreel: A Life in Review by Diana Wichtel published by Penguin Random House

10:45 Around the motu : Robin Martin in Taranaki

RNZ Reporter Robin Martin has a wrap of the region's news, including another development in the
ongoing saga that is the Mt Messenger bypass, and a new hut in the Pouakai Ranges.

11:05 Music with Dave Wilson: Songs to embrace rest

Music correspondent Dave Wilson joins Kathryn to play some songs that engender a sense of rest, something many of us need at this increasingly frantic time of year.

Dave Wilson is a saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, and interdisciplinary scholar, a Senior Lecturer in Music at the New Zealand School of Music-Te Kōkī.

11:20 No time for gardening? Don’t be a plant snob!

Landscape designer and gardener Xanthe White talks with Kathryn how to have a great garden, without spending much time in it. She says the key is selecting the right plants, and not being a plant snob.

The garden of listener Helen's father who died a couple of years ago, just before his 89th birthday. It was a monster patch - the equivalent of a three-bedroom house, Helen writes, and after his death it became a sea of weeds. She has since resurrected the garden into a floral "riot of colour", and her mum is able to take flowers to enjoy inside.

11:45 Three things you can do in 2025 to improve your financial wellbeing

Money expert David Boyle is along with his picks for the top three things you could do next year to improve your financial situation.

David Boyle is the General Manager of Kiwisaver for Fisher Funds and was previously with Mint Asset Management and the Commission for Financial Capability. This discussion is of a general nature and does not constitute financial advice.