Nine To Noon for Thursday 9 November 2023

09:05 Fights and threatening behaviour intimidate fearful Central Auckland businesses

Ongoing anti-social behaviour in central Auckland is prompting safety concerns among business owners and tourism operators, as more people flock into Downtown for summer. Co-owner of Vivace Restaurant Mandy Lusk says there have been multiple fights outside of her Fort Street venue, and she is no longer comfortable with staff walking to their cars alone. The Cruise Association is heading into its biggest season since pre-Covid days - but has told Nine to Noon its operators are noting that behaviour by rough sleepers, drinkers and drug dealers is intimidating for passengers. Central business association Heart of the City is calling for an urgent bylaw which would give council the power to trespass people when they are a risk to public safety. Heart of the City CEO Viv Beck, Auckland City Mission Chief Executive Helen Robinson and Vivace co-owner Mandy Lusk speak with Kathryn Ryan.

09:25 Increasing national security threats and New Zealand's preparedness

In the last five years geopolitical threats have ramped up with worsening climate change, China-US tensions over the South China sea and Taiwan, war in Europe with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Add to that the reignition of conflict in the Middle East with the Israeli-Gaza war. It comes as the country's Defence Force membership has depleted during the Covid years. Intelligence agencies are also warning private sector companies about intellectual property theft, and the risk of dual use of their technology, potentially against their own and the country's interests. Associate professor Wil Hoverd is the director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University. A new collection of essays he's edited considers New Zealand's readiness for the current, let alone future environment.  

09:35 Fast & curious: 81-year-old stunned by supercar win

Octogenarian Ivan Fahey is the proud new owner of a Lamborghini supercar after his name was pulled from a hat at the  Highlands Motorsport Park last weekend. Prior to this,  the only thing he's ever won was a meat pack down at the local RSA. After a couple of laps around the track with a pro driver, Ivan got behind the wheel and hit 170 kilometers an hour. The two-seater 2014 Lamborghini Huracan can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometres an hour in 2.9 seconds and was given away as part of Highland Motorsport Park's 10th anniversary. Ivan's about to get the supercar home, where he'll store it in the garage. He tells Kathryn there is a long line of people keen to go for a joy ride.

09:45 UK: King's Speech, apology for suggesting Covid 'chicken pox parties'

UK correspondent Dan Bloom joins Kathryn to talk about what was included in the King's Speech this week - the first in more than 70 years. King Charles laid out the priorities for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government , with law and order firmly at the centre. And former Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill has appeared at the Covid inquiry to apologise for suggesting something similar to "chicken pox parties" would be useful to get through the pandemic. 

10:05 Allie Pepper: a mountaineer on a mission

   
 In the next three years, Australian, Allie Pepper has her sights set on climbing 14 of the world's highest mountains without supplementary oxygen. She has already completed two in the last couple of months. Allie Pepper says doing a technical mountaineering course in New Zealand over 20 years ago changed the direction of her life and firmed up her addiction to thin air. She experienced a set back to her guiding business and mountain climbing a couple of years ago. The debilitating symptoms of early onset menopause had her fearing her career in the mountains could be over, but treatment has her back on track.

10:35 Book review: Selected Poems: Geoff Cochrane by Geoff Cochrane, ed. Fergus Barrowman

Harry Ricketts reviews Selected Poems: Geoff Cochrane by Geoff Cochrane, ed. Fergus Barrowman published by Te Herenga Waka University Press

10:45 Around the motu: Che Baker in Southland

Che joins Kathryn with another update on what's happening at the Gore District Council, where some ratepayers are unhappy with the decision to keep Stephen Parry on as interim CEO even after he'd announced his decision to resign. And the Council's procedures are in the spotlight over the way it dealt with a number of crab apple trees planted on the town's main street. The Tour of Southland, won by Englishman Dan Gardner, has been heralded a great success. And Che will also talk about the death of long-serving Southland Times editor and Dominion chief reporter Fred Tulett. He had 50 years in journalism and was considered a "true newspaper man".

11:05 Tech: Downfall of a 'Crypto-King', ChatGPT caution for companies

Technology correspondent Alex Sims joins Kathryn to talk about the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the "financial whiz kid" who created cryptocurrency exchange FTX in 2019 and was this week found guilty of wire fraud and other charges. She'll also look at what risks companies or organisations could be taking on when they use ChatGPT with business-specific information - it could wind up in the public domain. And how many companies are really prepared for the AI era?

Alex Sims is an Associate Professor in the Department of Commercial Law at the University of Auckland Business School and an expert on blockchain technology, copyright law and consumer law

11:25 Re-thinking the 'career conversation' with teens

If you ever ask a teenager what they're going to do after high school, you may notice them recoil. For many students in their final years of school this is an anxiety-inducing question. Career Coach Tracey Beard says that if we really want to help, we need to re-think 'the career conversation'. Tracey is the CEO, what she calls 'the chief encouragement officer',  at Career Matters, a coaching service for students and caregivers.

11:45 Screentime: OneFour: Against all Odds, The Out-laws, Quiz Lady

Film and TV reviewer Laumata Lauano joins Kathryn to talk about a new Netflix documentary into Australian drill rap group OneFour  - four Samoan Australians who found enormous success but also found themselves on the wrong side of the law. Against All Odds considers whether that was fair. She'll also look at The Out-laws - an action comedy studying Pierce Brosnan and Ellen Barkin as in-laws of a different kind. And Awkwafina and Sandra Oh star in a new film called Quiz Lady.