Nine To Noon for Wednesday 3 April 2024

 

09:05 Are insurers wrongly declining ME/CFS claims?

Some people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome say they are being denied personal insurance because insurers deem it to be a mental health issue,  not a biomedical issue.  Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome - or ME/CFS - is a post viral condition, causing mild symptoms in some, while leaving others unable to work and even confined to their beds. The ME Society, which represents people with the condition, says it know of at least three cases where insurers have denied cover, on the basis there was a mental health component.  Otago University Emeritus Professor Warren Tate says there is 'overwhelming evidence' that ME/CFS is not a psychological issue - but is post-viral. He is working on having it reclassified as a biomedical illness that involves an immune system dysfunction. More recently, he and other researchers are focusing on the similarities between ME/CFS , and another potentially debilitating post viral condition - long covid. Kathryn speaks with Professor Tate and a person with ME/CFS whose insurance claim has been denied.

09:35 GNS scientist wants greenhouse growers to consider geothermal heat  

GNS Science modeller John Burnell wants greenhouse growers to consider using low-temperature geothermal heat instead of natural gas for heat. Geothermal heat is mainly used for electricity production in New Zealand and provides about 18 percent of total generation. It's also used in industrial process heat and for water heating. But John says as gas reserves decline and the importance of covered crops rises, there's great potential in using low-temperature geothermal heat as a substitute for gas. More than 90 percent of tomatoes, capsicum and cucumbers are grown as covered crops in this country and we have about 310 hectares of greenhouses, mostly in the North Island. 

09:45 Australia: Aid worker killed in Gaza, focus on solar power

Australia correspondent Bernard Keane joins Kathryn to talk about the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom, along with six others, in Gaza. The Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted an IDF air strike was to blame, while Australian PM Anthony Albanese says he wants "full accountability". One in three Australian houses have solar panels - but just 1 percent are made in Australia. The government wants that to change.

Bernard Keane is political editor for Crikey.com

10:05 The human toll of Britain's Post Office IT system scandal

It has been called the greatest miscarriage of justice in British history - the UK Post Office scandal. Nearly 1000 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted or convicted of theft, false accounting and fraud - due to a computer system failure that was denied for years. Thousands of others paid up for the discrepancies which were none of their doing. The story of the scandal, which has ruined lives and led to a decades-long battle for justice, is now being told here through a TV drama - Mr Bates vs the Post Office, screening on TVNZ plus. But the real-life consequences continue, for its victims. While there was a successful class action of 555 subpostmasters led by former postie Alan Bates in 2019, there are hundreds more who are still fighting to clear their names and secure what they deem fair compensation. Former sub-postmaster Keith Macaldowie, from Greenock in Scotland, tells his story. Kathryn then speaks to another sub-postmaster - now retired - Peter Collins from Blackpool and his lawyer, leading the charge for dozens of other subpostmasters to get justice, Neil Hudgell.

10:35 Book review: Sanctuary by Garry Disher 

David Hill reviews Sanctuary by Garry Disher published by Text Publishing

10:45 Around the motu: Libby Kirkby-McLeod in Waikato

RNZ Waikato Reporter Libby Kirkby-McLeod discusses the demise of Three Waters and the implications for council long term planning; the debate over the Hamilton to Auckland commuter train and how much it costs,  and a tramper is still missing in the Pureora Forest.

11:05 Ian Chapman's Unsung Music Heroes II

Music correspondent Ian Chapman shines a spotlight on two long-established, highly talented, but stylistically very different musical identities from Dunedin. While Shakes (aka Chris Prendergast) and John Dodd have been held in the highest esteem among the music fraternity of Otepoti for many decades, beyond Otago they are largely unsung heroes despite their impressive musical pedigrees. Ian seeks to rectify that situation - as he did last year with David Harrison - and will play two songs from each of these modest yet remarkable music luminaries. 

 Ian Chapman is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Music at the University of Otago. 

11:20 Gardening with Xanthe White 

Landscape designer and gardener Xanthe White talks about what to do in the garden in autumn. She says it's the last push to get vegetables planted to carry through winter. Xanthe also has advice for gardeners overwhelmed by autumn leaves.

11:45 Science: Climate change and timekeeping, 4000-year old teeth

Science commentator Laurie Winkless joins Kathryn to talk about how we measure time and a new paper which suggests melting water from polar regions could be affecting the Earth's rotation - what impact could it have? Researchers have found preserved microbes in two teeth dating back 4000 years - what does it tell us about how the bacteria that live in our mouths have changed over time? And how computer modelling is being used to identify and predict what makes a beer popular.

Laurie Winkless is a physicist and science writer

 

 

Music played in this show

The Temptations - 'Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)'

The Dramatics - 'Whatcha See is Whatcha Get'