Nine To Noon for Thursday 14 March 2024

 

 

09:05 Aggressive and armed shoplifters torment supermarket workers

Supermarket staff feel threatened, frustrated, fearful and powerless over shoplifters wheeling out goods by the trolley load. This is the daily experience in some stores around the country. Staff at Countdown supermarkets have been confronted with machetes, knives, and one instance a gun. Disdain from some shoplifters can extend to walking of the store with trolley laden with meat, cosmetics and alcohol, valued at thousands of dollars. Point Chevalier Countdown in Auckland is a high risk store - but  representative of a nationwide problem. A local resident, whom we are not naming, likens shopping there to running a frightening and demoralising gauntlet. Countdown's parent company Woolworths NZ has allocated $45m to a safer stores programme, which will ultimately see selected staff in each of the 194 outlets wearing body cameras. Kathryn discusses the gravity of the situation with Jason Stockill who is the director of stores tor Woolworths NZ, and First Union's Rudd Hughes who is the National Secretary for retail and finance.

09:25 Thousands of biodiversity scientists decry fast track consenting

A group representing thousands of scientists has written to the Cabinet saying the government's plan for fast tracking consenting is retrograde and values development over the environment. The legislation - which passed its first reading last week - will give three ministers the power to bypass normal consent processes and have the final say on approvals for special infrastructure projects.A group of ten scientific societies which conduct research in biodiversity say New Zealand's plants, animals, fungi and ecosystems are globally unique but are also threatened with extinction.  In a letter sent to Ministers today, they say the changes will cause further degradation, and mean that development projects will be at the whim of political decision-making and ministerial discretion, without appropriate checks and balances.  Dr Jo Monks is the Vice-President of the New Zealand Ecological Society, a Lecturer in Ecology at the University of Otago, and is the spokesperson for the group.

09:30 Real estate mogul turns deep sea treasure hunter

In 1937, Amelia Earhart's historic attempt to circumnavigate the globe ended in tragedy when her plane vanished over the vast South Pacific. The mystery of her disappearance has captivated aviation enthusiasts for decades. Pilot and former US Airforce officer, Tony Romeo has long been fascinated by her disappearance. Determined to discover the location of her missing plane he sold his South Carolina commercial property company, and used the money to set up Deep Sea Vision, an underwater exploration company. Deep Sea Vision's search for the missing plane has reportedly cost over US$10m, but Tony believes it has yielded results. After a 90-day expedition meticulously scanning over 5,000 square miles of the ocean floor, Deep Sea Vision's sonar technology detected a shape remarkably similar to the missing aircraft.

09:45 UK: Frank Hester racism row, 'extremism' definition reviewed

UK correspondent Dan Bloom unravels the controversy over major Tory donor Frank Hester, who reportedly said black female MP Diane Abbott "should be shot". It's led to calls for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to refund his donations, and condemn Hester's comments. And Communities Secretary Michael Gove is set to deliver a new definition of 'extremism' - why has the plan been criticised by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York?

Dan Bloom is deputy editor of Politico London Playbook

10:05 The history of art is very different when you include the women

E. H. Gombrich's 1950 book The Story Of Art is one of art history's seminal texts. Now on it's 16th edition, it has sold over eight million copies and been translated into more than 30 languages. But it has one major flaw. The first edition didn't include any women artists, whilst subsequent editions feature just one; Käthe Kollwitz. Art historian Katy Hessel is on a mission to correct that. Her book The Story of Art Without Men re-examines art movements from the Renaissance to today, focusing on the achievements of women artists. Artists who have often been overshadowed by their male counterparts. Hessel's book challenges the traditional narrative and celebrates the artistic genius of women. Katy is also the curator behind popular Instagram account The Great Woman Artists. She joins Nine To Noon ahead of her May 18th appearance at the Auckland Writers Festival.
 

10:35 Book review: Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 Edited by Tracey Slaughter 

Ash Davida Jane reviews Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 Edited by Tracey Slaughter published by Massey University Press

10:45 Around the motu : Mike Tweed in Whanganui

Things are looking up for Whanganui's international pilot academy with the District Council investing $2.78 million in 10 additional planes. The academy has recently signed a new contract with Indian airline IndiGo to train pilots in the river city. Also the town's CBD is being transformed into a pedestrian centric hub and moves are afoot to increase parking fees, currently it only costs 50 cents an hour to park in some areas.

Mike Tweed is a Multimedia Journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle 

11:05 Tech: What's behind the US TikTok block?

Technology correspondent Peter Griffin examines why the US House of Representatives has just passed legislation to ban Chinese-owned app TikTok and the repercussions it might bring from China. The bill must pass in the Senate, but if it does, TikTok owner ByteDance would be required to sell it within six months or face a ban from US app stores and hosting plaforms. Peter will also update what's happening in Australia as Google moves forward with its publishing deal, even after Meta pulled out.

Peter Griffin is a Wellington-based science and technology journalist.

11:25 Parenting: What to do when your child refuses to go to school

School refusal is a different kettle of fish than a child simply wanting to stay home for a day. It's a situation where they become so anxious or fearful - and it can be for a variety of reasons - that they refuse to go, repeatedly. While it's difficult to measure how many kids experience this, Dr Rosina McAlpine, founder of the Win Win Parenting program in Australia, says it could be up to five percent. Dr Rosina founded the parenting wellness workshop, which has been run across Australia and New Zealand, when through her work she realised many working parents were lacking support on how to balance their home life. Dr Rosina has completed a Masters of Higher Education and an education-focused PhD and joins Kathryn Ryan from Sydney to discuss school refusal.

11:45 Screentime: Dark City: The Cleaner, The Regime, Dune 2

Film and TV correspondent Chris Schulz joins Kathryn to talk about local production Dark City: The Cleaner (Neon), based on the bestselling book by New Zealand author Paul Cleave. He'll also look at black satire The Regime (Neon), starring Kate Winslet and the new blockbuster Dune: Part Two (cinemas).