Nine To Noon for Thursday 16 November 2023

09:05 Residents leaving as drying Hawke's Bay silt piles whip up into plumes of dust

As the Hawke's Bay sun begins to dry out the silt piles left by Cyclone Gabrielle, the dust problem is becoming so bad, some residents are leaving their homes. There's still up to 1.5 million cubic metres of debris to shift, much of it sitting in heaps on the edges of properties and orchards, ready for collection. Hawke's Bay Regional Council has secured enough funding to move 200,000 cubic metres of it over this month and next, but past that point, funding to finish the job is uncertain. But as the piles crust over, and are then disrupted, it's whipping them up into plumes of dust. Scientists are gathering in the region to analyse how much of an issue this is likely to be as El Nino arrives. Esk Valley resident Steve Wheeler's lifestyle block was buried under two metres of silt during the cyclone. While much of it is cleared away, he says the dust is getting extreme, he's moving house to another area today and he says he's not the first. Steve, along with NIWA air quality scientist Elizabeth Somervell and Silt Recovery Taskforce lead Darren de Klerk, speak to Susie Ferguson.

09:30 Frustrated farmers to open health hub in Dargaville
 

A farming couple outside of Dargaville are so fed up with the lack of health services in the area they have purchased a building with plans to set up a health clinic. Dargaville has no dentist, optometrist and the local medical centre is so stretched for staff, locals need to drive an hour to Whangarei if they need medical attention on a Sunday. Pouto farmers Julie and Rodney Cotton say for many in their community there are huge barriers to making the two hour round trip for basic healthcare. Kaipara District Mayor Craig Jepson and Julie Cotton join Kathryn to discuss the issue and what can be done about it.

09:45 UK: PM digs deep on Rwanda, crucial ceasefire vote for Labour

UK correspondent Lara Spirit joins Susie to talk about Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledging to introduce legislation to mark Rwanda as a safe country, even after the UK's plans to deport asylum seekers there was ruled unlawful. Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has launched a broadside at Sunak after he sacked her, and Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure over Labour's stance on a ceasefire in Gaza.

Lara Spirit is a reporter for The Times Red Box, where she covers politics from Westminster

10:05 Miriam Margolyes: Stories from an Extraordinary Life

Miriam Margolyes "can't resist naughtiness". The actor famed for her character roles and her outrageous chat show appearances is described as someone for whom currency is laughter - by any means possible: outrage, obscenity, and occasional flatulence. Despite recent heart surgery and a body she describes as "crumbling concrete", the 82-year-old is refusing to slow down. Miriam will be in New Zealand this summer to shoot Holy Days - a film about a group of nuns fighting a development order, starring alongside Judy Davis and Joanna Scanlan, and has just finished her second memoir: Oh Miriam: Stories from an Extraordinary Life. She speaks to Susie Ferguson. 

10:35 Book review: The Bee Sting by Paul Murray 

Jenna Todd of Time Out Bookstore reviews The Bee Sting by Paul Murray published by Penguin Books

10:45 Around the motu: Peter Newport in Queenstown Lakes & Central Otago

Housing is at a premium in Queenstown and Peter says there is an ongoing issue with slum landlords. He also updates on the fallout from recent storm damage including debris strewn through the main Queenstown cemetery.

Peter Newport is the Managing Editor,  Crux, based in Arrowtown

11:05 Tech: New ChatGPT, Australian ports under attack, 'Black Friday' looms

Tech commentator Paul Matthews looks at at how new ChatGPT is smarter and more connected. It's able to consume more information than ever before, and has a whole ecosystem of mini smart apps all working together. Sound scary? Major Australian ports are coming back online following yet another major cyber-attack, seemingly designed to disrupt and destabilise our closest major neighbour. What’s behind it and what could that mean for New Zealand? We’re a little over one week away from “Black Friday”, the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season. So how much shopping will Santa do online this year?

11:25 Parenting: conversations about sextortion and online grooming

11:45 Screentime: Time s2, A Murder at the End of the World, Every Word Counts

Film and TV reviewer Tamar Munch joins Susie to talk about the second season of British prison drama Time (Neon, SkyGo),  A Murder at the End of the World (Disney+), a drama about a Gen Z amateur sleuth who tries to solve a murder at a secluded retreat and Every Word Counts (Spinoff), a documentary about competitive Scrabble.