Nine To Noon for Tuesday 10 October 2023

 

 

09:05 Nurse training facility sits empty, despite sector shortages

 For over a year the $2m Healthcare Academy of New Zealand run by Yoobee Colleges has been sitting empty - even as thousands more nurses are needed in the health sector. It's down to what operator Yoobee Colleges describes as a 'technicality' that requires education providers to offer a Bachelor of Nursing as well. The Nursing Council, the body which regulates nurse training told Nine to Noon it wouldn't comment on individual providers' accreditation processes, but it did say a review of the enrolled nurse scope of practice was underway. Yoobee Colleges says that's going to take time - perhaps another year. And it says it's ironic that enrolled nurses trained at its partner facilities in Australia face no delay to getting jobs in New Zealand. Kathryn speaks to Yoobee Colleges' CEO Ana Maria Rivera about the situation, and the Nurses Organisation's kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku.

09:20 Southland man's journey to read in his late 50s

For nearly his entire adult life, if somebody asked Southland man Michael Kingpotiki to read something out, he'd tell them he didn't have his glasses handy. The truth was, Michael didn't know how to read or write - something he harboured deep shame over, and went to great lengths to hide. But when, in his late 50s, he realised he might never get the chance to read to his grandchildren, he reached out for help. Kaipara-based retired teacher Linda Davies, who volunteered for the Rural Youth and Adult Literacy Trust, took the farm manager under her wing. Three years and countless Zoom sessions later, Michael has written a book - A Journey Towards Literacy - a self-published biography which he will share with his family. Michael Kingpotiki and Linda Davies speak with Kathryn Ryan.

09:45 USA correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben

The latest polling ahead of the 2024 presidential election has Joe Biden and Donald Trump evenly matched. And, Republican voters are more satisfied with former President Trump than Democrats are with President Biden. Also an update on the very close call with a Government shutdown, avoided at the eleventh hour. Now, the focus is on electing a new House Speaker, after Kevin McCarthy was removed.

Danielle Kurtzleben is a political correspondent assigned to NPR's Washington Desk.

10:05 Our fascinating, yet forgotten forest

Glow-in-the-dark fungi, parasitic orchids, slime moulds that hunt the forest floor for prey - it's a lost world hiding in plain sight. According to ecologist Robert Vennell our forests are overflowing with peculiar organisms. These specimens - responsible for providing us with fire, food, and medicine - have had an outsized impact on human history and lives, yet remain largely in obscurity. In his latest book, The Forgotten Forest, Robert takes the reader on a bushwalk unlike any other, shining a light on the dark corners of the New Zealand bush. Robert Vennell is a curator in the Natural Science department at Auckland Museum and best-selling author of The Meaning of Trees and the Secrets of the Sea.

10:35 Book review: The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith 

Elisabeth Easther reviews The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith published by Hachette

10:45 Around the motu: Jean Edwards in Christchurch

RNZ's Jean Edwards is in Christchurch where the race for the Ilam electorate is heating up again. Sarah Pallett's success was one of the biggest upsets in 2020, as the first Labour MP to win the Christchurch seat. But can she hold it against Opportunities Party leader Raf Manji? Also, a coronial inquest is due to begin this month into the Christchurch mosque attacks. Key issues for the first phase of the inquiry include the initial emergency response, the speed of medical treatment, and the functionality of an emergency exit door.

11:05 Business commentator Victoria Young

Fonterra has raised its forecast farmgate milk price on what it says is an improved outlook. BusinessDesk investigations editor Victoria Young discusses just how much farmers should be celebrating. Also, a deep dive into space policy and why it's important, as the National Party promises to remove red tape from the industry if elected. And, how the Party's potential coalition partner - Act - could hinder their plans.

11:30 Untold stories: Tom Clarke on the missing pieces of NZ history

A new book from retired journalist Tom Clarke pulls together some of the lesser-known stories of New Zealand's past. It has its roots in a service he provided to New Zealand radio stations in the early 80s, called Today in History New Zealand. The well-researched book includes some gems, including the tale of the survivors of the wrecked  General Grant, who spent 18 months on sub-Antarctic Islands waiting for rescue. There's the burlesque dancers who horsewhipped a newspaper editor who impugned their character and the unrealised plans for a 2-week service by airship between England and New Zealand. Tom joins Kathryn to talk about Our Untold Stories: Extraordinary Tales from New Zealand's Past and why he thinks it's important such history isn't forgotten. 

11:45 Sports-chat with Sam Ackerman

Music played in this show