Nine To Noon for Thursday 19 October 2023

09:05 NZ private sector vulnerable to espionage: SIS head

New Zealand tech and innovation businesses are vulnerable to the threat of industrial espionage by state actors, according to the head of the spy agency. Andrew Hampton, the Director General of the Security Intelligence Service,  met yesterday with Five Eyes partner agencies: the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.  For the first time the Five Eyes agencies jointly went public about the common threat of new technology. The group also discussed escalating tensions in the Middle East and the threat implications around the world.  Andrew Hampton tells Kathryn there are undoubtedly bad actors who will try to exploit New Zealand private sector businesses, especially those who need investment.

09:25 Médecins Sans Frontières on the huminatarian crisis in Gaza

There is a humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza. So far aid for Gaza has been held up across the border from Egypt. As has the ability for Gazans with passports to leave. Overnight, following a meeting with the US President Joe Biden, the Israeli government said it "will not thwart" humanitarian supplies from Egypt as long as it is only food, water and medicine for the civilian population in the southern Gaza strip. There is dispute over who caused the explosion at Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital in Gaza - where hundreds are feared dead. Israel is denying responsibility. It is blaming the blast on a misfired rocket from the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad. Palestinian officials are blaming Israel for the explosion. Médecins Sans Frontières has labelled the explosion at the hospital a "massacre" that is "absolutely unacceptable". The organisation was operating in the hospital when the explosion happened and the ceiling fell on the operating room. Former MSF medical co-ordinator in Palestine, Dr Nathalie Thurtle, who has worked across Gaza and the West Bank talks to Kathryn about what is needed on the ground.

09:40 The power of dung beetles on farms and the push to spread them further

Dr Shaun Forgie wants to see dung beetles all over farms up and down the country. The beetles carry off and bury animal manure and the tunnels they dig help water infiltrate the soil. They have been allowed into the country since 2011 with 11 species granted Environmental Protection Agency approval. Dr Forgie co-founded Dung Beetle Innovations in 2014 and has been helping farmers establish dung beetles on farms ever since. He says dung beetles should be a part of all farmers' toolboxes when trying to manage freshwater on their property.

09:45 UK: By-election challenge for Tories, row over pension increase

UK correspondent Dan Bloom joins Kathryn to discuss two by-elections due to be held later on Thursday, that could prove to be problematic for the Conservatives. He'll talk about Britain's reaction to the situation in Gaza and Israel, including a call from Foreign Minister James Cleverly for people to wait for the facts about who was behind the deadly blast at a hospital in Gaza. And Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is considering making changes to how state pension increases are calculated.

10:05 Playwright Donna McLeod's new work has its roots in longest-running property claim

 You could say Motueka writer Donna McLeod's new play has been a long time in the making: over 180 years, in fact. The play is called Tense, and it focuses on the historical significance of the Nelson Tenths - New Zealand's longest-running land claim. It concerns the agreement made in 1839 between Māori landowners around the Nelson region and the New Zealand Company to purchase 151,000 acres - on condition 10 percent was set aside for Māori. The amount actually set aside was much less, and the issue is still being fought through the courts. For Donna, it's personal. She joins Kathryn to explain why. Donna's play Tense is part of the Nelson Arts Festival - it'll have its debut in Motueka at Te Noninga Kumu public library on October 25th and in Nelson's Theatre Royal on the 26th. 

10:35 Book review: Don Binney: Flight Path by Greg O'Brien 

Sonja de Friez reviews Don Binney: Flight Path by Greg O'Brien published by Auckland University Press

10:45 Around the motu: Kelly Makiha in Rotorua

Kelly Makiha is in Rotorua, where she recently met Renea Wharekura, who is lucky to be alive after a car smashed into her house, coming to a halt beside her bed. And the Rotorua courthouse has had a fire alarm scare, triggered by prisoners smoking in the cells. However, how their got their hands on cigarettes while awaiting their appearances remains a mystery.

11:05 Tech: Wartime tech trouble, Google's massive cyber attack

Technology correspondent Mark Pesce joins Kathryn to talk about the difficulties wartime creates when it comes to tech - can you trust what you're seeing and hearing and are tools to 'detect' fake news working?  X (former Twitter) has firmly moved away from content moderation - has that contributed to the problem? Mark will also have some tips to manage your social media right now, and details about the largest-ever cyber attack which hit Google last month.

11:25 Parenting adult children, how roles change

Parents often say they never stop worrying about their offspring. But how does parenting change as your children become adults? Are today's adult children more dependent on their elders for longer? What is the roadmap for parents here? Neuroplasticity educator and parenting expert, father and grandfather, Nathan Wallis joins Kathryn.

11:45 Screentime: Raised by Refugees s2, The Strangest of Angels, Totally Killer

Film and TV reviewer Laumata Lauano joins Kathryn to talk about season two of Kiwi comedian Pax Assadi's Raised by Refugees, The Strangest of Angels - a film by New Zealand Opera about the life of Janet Frame and Totally Killer, a time-travelling slasher movie.

Music played in this show

Track:    Patterns
Artist:    Suse Milleman
Time played: 10:28