Nine To Noon for Wednesday 14 February 2024

 

09:05 Cyclone Gabrielle: Wairoa mayor reflects one year on 

Wairoa's mayor Craig Little reflects on the first anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle. The cyclone destroyed homes, businesses, bridges and severely damaged roads and farms in the district. Power, internet and phone systems were out and the district was completely cut off from all directions. Craig Little says Wairoa's scars remain raw, and rebuilding is challenging. Over one hundred yellow-stickered homes remain with hundreds of people still displaced. He says, per capita, Wairoa was the most impacted community of Tairāwhiti and Hawke's Bay and the most isolated.

09:20 John Carnegie on the energy transition and his new role at World Energy Council

John Carnegie is the first New Zealander to sit on the World Energy Council board after his appointment last month. The council has close to 100 member countries - and they include the largest energy-producing and energy-consuming nations. There are 3000 member organisations. They include the likes of the State Grid company in China, the California Independent System Operator - the state's equivalent to Transpower - and recently Boeing signed up. Some governments are in there - but New Zealand's is not. Business NZ's Energy Council is a member in this country and they represent major electricity companies from generators like Meridian Energy to lines companies like Auckland's Vector. John is a former head of the New Zealand Energy Council and is now chairing the World Energy Council's finance committee. In his day job, he is the chief executive of Energy Resources Aotearoa - previously known as the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association or PEPANZ - the oil and gas sector lobbyists. John talks to Kathryn about the difficult decisions that we face as we go into the energy transition.

0930 Fletcher Building posts huge loss

The country's biggest construction company, Fletcher Building, has posted a loss of $120 million for the six months to December - much worse that predicted. The Chief Executive and Chairman are to go - Kathryn speaks with RNZ Business Editor Gyles Beckford.

09:45 Australia: Dox law, drunk Barnaby, grim swim warning, TayTay touches down

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton joins Kathryn to talk about the federal government's move to upgrade privacy law to criminalise 'doxxing' - which is publishing someone's private information with malicious intent - after 600 Jewish people had their WhatsApp messages leaked. The government's annual "closing the gap" statement to Parliament contained some bleak details for Indigenous Australians. Former deputy PM Barnaby Joyce has been urged to take leave from Parliament and get help after a video of him lying drunk and swearing into a phone emerged. A wet summer is leaving a nasty legacy, with swimmers urged to avoid the ocean and Australia braces for Taylor Swift mania.

Karen Middleton is chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper. 

10:05 Bank Of Dave:  The little guy who took on the UK banks

Dave Fishwick ran a minibus business in the northern England town of Burnley, when he decided to take on the UK banking establishment. When the Global Financial crisis hit in 2007, he noticed the businesses he sold his vans to were struggling, and unable to secure loans from the big banks. So he stepped in. Over the next few years Dave lent over £1,000,000 of his own money to a variety of businesses in his local community, from florist to the local busker, and donated the profits to charity along the way. In 2011 he decided to make it official, applying for a banking license.  This despite the fact the regulator then responsible for granting licenses had approved just one in the last 150 years. His story is told in Bank of Dave, currently screening on Neon.

10:35 Book review: Build For Eternity by Selwyn Katene and A.Keith Thompson 

David Hill reviews Build For Eternity by Selwyn Katene and A.Keith Thompson published by Huia

10:45 Around the motu : Jimmy Ellingham covering Manawatu

Palmerston North hospital is flying in a doctor from Australia, there are more cuts at Massey University, Whakapapa Holdings has pulled out of taking over Mt Ruapehu skifield assets, and Jimmy has an update on teenager, Carson Harvey who required costly specialist surgery in London.

 RNZ Checkpoint reporter Jimmy Ellingham

11:05 Music with Charlotte Ryan

Music 101 host Charlotte Ryan plays music honouring Damo Suzuki, the Japanese lead singer of the innovative band Can. She'll also play a new track from Lyttelton-based musician Delany Davison and a special one for Valentine's Day.

11:20 Freddie Gillies' new book details a European road-trip from hell

This Valentine's Day,  if you're not feeling the love, we've got just the story for you. It comes from Freddie Gillies, and it's his second book - his first was focused on the epic 23,000km bike trip he, his brother and two friends did from Bali to Buckingham Palace back in 2017.  His new work is a novel: Because All Fades. It's about two Kiwi couples who set off on a summer road trip to Italy, which quickly sours after an accident - one that will end up testing their relationships. Freddie admits drawing on some personal experiences here to tell the tale and joins Kathryn from London - where he's on his OE - to explain.

11:45 Personal finance: 5 things to talk to your Valentine about

Simran Kaur joins Kathryn to talk about five important money issues to raise with your partner; including shared goals, budgets, addressing debt and respecting differences. 

Simran Kaur is the co-host of the podcast Girls That Invest. This discussion is of a general nature, and does not constitute financial advice.