Saturday Morning for Saturday 19 October 2024

7.11 Language restrictions in hospitals

Memos sent to staff at Waikato and Christchurch hospitals have reminded nurses to only speak English in a clinical setting.

Meanwhile, at Palmerston North Hospital,  Indian nurses were specifically singled out and told they had to stop speaking Malayalam in public spaces.

It's sparked calls of racism and discrimination and a call for an apology from healthcare unions.

The Health Minister Shane Reti said that while English was the base language at Health NZ, there had been no directive from the government.

He said nurses who want to speak their first language to each other or to patients where they feel its clinically safe should be able to.

Health NZ later clarified and put out another memo saying where it was clinically safe and appropriate for patients and working in teams, staff should exercise their professional judgement on what language to use.

Professor Ineke Crezee from the Auckland University of Technology who has been working in the field of healthcare translating for decades told Susie she's astounded by the memos.

 

7.20: Family search for answers 

The 23rd of October will mark the 3rd anniversary of the day Jason Butler was last seen, after being taken into the Raukūmara Ranges on unsanctioned work experience.

About a fortnight earlier, Jason was admitted to Whakātane hospital under the mental health act, he discharged himself several days later in circumstances that were investigated by Te Whatu Ora.

In the days following his release, he was taken into the bush by a Ngā Whenua Rāhui  pest control contractor - a programme which falls under DOC.

The work experience was unsanctioned, the pair were separated and Jason was never seen again.

Jason's sister Huia Mackley spoke to Mihi just ahead of the anniversary.

 

7.28 Team New Zealand surge back

Team New Zealand have beaten the challengers Ineos Britannia overnight in Barcelona. 

The Kiwis, were leading the series 4-2 going into the race, after a dramatic come-back by Britannia which saw Team NZ's dominance shaken.

Mihi asked America's Cup Correspondent, Stuff's Todd Niall to bring us up to date with the action.

 

7.33 Ashley's law passes unanimously

Legislation giving family violence survivors the power to quickly dissolve abusive marriages passed with full cross party support this week in parliament.

The bill - nicknamed "Ashley's law" - will allow survivors to apply for a court order dissolving a marital arrangement as soon as they get a final protection order.

Beforehand the system required parties to live apart for two years before making an application.

RNZ Explainer Editor, Katie Kenny broke it all down for Mihi and Susie.

 

7.40 Friction in the Capital

There's drama brewing in Wellington between central and local government.

The Finance Minister Nicola Willis has doubled down on calling Wellington City Council a "shambles" - leaving questions of whether there will be government intervention unanswered.

That's after Local Government Minister Simeon Brown met with Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau on Thursday and the mayor confirmed there was no talk of government intervention.

Susie asked RNZ's Wellington Issues reporter Nick James to explain.

 

7.50 Cliff the Ambulance hits the road

A campaign is starting this morning to push for the fit-for-purpose hospital in Dunedin that the government had promised.

Mayor Jules Radich says the hospital project is vital to the whole Southern region.

The city council has dubbed a new awareness-raising campaign "Ambulance Cliff" as a reminder of what local communities want to avoid.

The ambulance, called Cliff, will travel through the lower South Island to spread the campaign's message , with Wellington as its final destination.

Mayor Radich spoke to Mihi and Susie.

 

8.10 Emma Maurice: Letters to the Editor

Emma Maurice was adopted by a loving Pakeha family as a baby, in a closed adoption. She didn't know about her Māori heritage until she was in her 30's. Since then, she's jumped head first into discovering more about her whakapapa and helping others learn about theirs.

Emma has earnt a PHD in Indigenous Philosophy. Her thesis, 'Voices Across a Century: Ngāi Tahu Indigenous agency in Letters to the Editor', looks at the history of how Māori were portrayed in print media from 1850 - right through to the 1950s. And the letters to the editor columns which document many surprising accounts of Māori community throughout the ages.

 

8.35 Poems changing generations of lives

New anthology Now and Then features 92 poets of all ages, ethnicities, languages, and experiences, from across New Zealand, who've turned their poetic attention to the rich tapestry of 'generations'.

They range from well-known poets to newcomers, including  high school students, four-year olds, and people who speak English as a second language.

Adrienne Jansen is lead publisher at not-for-profit Wellington publisher of poetry Landing Press. She reads some of the cutest poems to Susie.

 

9.05 Greg Eghigian: The history of UFOs

Greg Eghigian is an expert on the history of the abnormal and the paranormal in the modern world. A professor of History and Bioethics at Pennsylvania State University, Eghigian's research on UFOs and alien contact has been supported by the likes of NASA and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.  

His book After the Flying Saucers Came details how the phenomenon started in the United States and became a worldwide obsession.  

 

9.40 Liam Dann on NZ's brain drain 

Recent figures show 81,200 Kiwis left New Zealand long-term since the start of the year, in the biggest brain drain we've seen in decades. So how concerning is this for our economy?

New Zealand Herald business editor-at-large Liam Dann joins Susie and Mihi to explain.

 

10.05 Harriet Constable: The forgotten women who shaped classical music

Harriet Constable is an award-winning journalist, writer and filmmaker based in London. Her debut novel, The Instrumentalist,  inspired by the true story of Anna Maria della Pietà, who was an orphan, musical prodigy and student of one of the greatest Baroque composers of all time, Antonio Vivaldi.

The Instrumentalist tells the story of the orphans of Venice who overcame destitution and abuse to make music, and whose contributions to some of the most important works of classical music, including The Four Seasons, have been overlooked by history for too long. 

The Instrumentalist has been named 'Best Historical Fiction' by The Sunday Times.  

 

10.25 Kai Feast: recipes from the maunga to the moana

Christall Lowe is a food writer, stylist and photographer based in Fielding.

Her first book Kai won the Best First Book Award for Non-fiction at the 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards and was highly commended at the PANZ Book Design and NZ Booklovers awards. 

Christall's follow up cookbook Kai Feast is out now. It's full of recipes, inter-woven with stories of traditional gathering and feasting, tips on cooking for a crowd and notes on foraging and using native herbs.

Mihi speaks with Christall about using cooking techniques which have been passed down through generations. 

 

11.05 Playing Favourites with Nathaniel Lees

Kiwi-born Samoan, Maiava Nathaniel Lees began acting on stage in 1975, and on screen in 1984. Best known for film roles in The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and for starring in Young Hercules as Chiron the centaur.  

Nathaniel joins Susie and Mihi to discuss the upcoming Wellington season of Horizons, which Nathaniel narrates, and play some of his favourite tunes. 

 

Books on today's show

Now and Then
By Adrienne Jansen 
Published by Landing Press

After the Flying Saucers Came
By Greg Eghigian
Published by Oxford University Press Inc

Kai Feast
By Christall Lowe
Published by Bateman Books

The Instrumentalist
By Harriet Constable
Published by Bloomsbury

 

 

 

Music played in this show

Pūhā me te Porohewa by Mā

Starman by David Bowie

The Four Seasons by Summer (3) by Vivaldi

Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson

Maiava Nathaniel Lees Playing Favourites choices:

Breezin by George Benson

Hey Joe by Jimi Hendix

French Letter by Herbs

September by Earth Wind and Fire

Redemption Song by Bob Marley

Muao by Grey Sisters