Nine To Noon for Thursday 6 March 2025

09:05 Silicosis sufferer urges Govt to ban engineered stone 

A Melbourne mother who contracted the lung disease silicosis linked to her work in the office of a quarry, is urging our government to follow Australia and ban engineered stone. Worksafe figures estimate tens of thousands of New Zealand workers could be exposed to the serious disease, caused by the inhalation of crystaline silica dust. The dust is generated from cutting, grinding, or polishing engineered stone commonly used in kitchen benchtops. Australia is the first country to ban the importation, use and supply of engineered stone. Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden is consulting now on whether to change the regulations here. Melbourne mother of two, Joanna McNeill, worked in admin at a quarry. She was part of the campaign to ban engineered stone in Australia last year, and is in Wellington as a guest of the health and safety organisation for mining/extractive sectors MinEx  - which also wants a ban. She joins Kathryn along with MinEx CEO Wayne Scott.

09:20 Questions linger after abrupt Orr resignation

In a media statement the Governor said it had been a "privilege to lead an institution that plays a critical role in the economic well-being and prosperity of all New Zealanders". Orr was first appointed to the job in 2018, and reappointed for a second five-year term in March 2023. His leaving three years before the end of this second term has left many questions unanswered, and Orr has not yet fronted any media for interviews. Nine to Noon has extended an interview to him - and would welcome that. Reserve Bank board chair Neil Quigley did take media questions yesterday - and said there were no performance or conduct issues behind the decision, and that it was a personal decision made by Adrian Orr. Mr Quigley said he had discussed the resignation process with Mr Orr for the `past several days'.   The governor felt it was the right time to leave, Mr Quigley said. Gyles Beckford is RNZ's business editor.

09:30 Kiwi architects Tennent Brown pushing the boundaries of living buildings

Hugh Tennent and Ewan Brown are the founding partnership behind Pōneke-Wellington firm Tennent Brown Architects and are the forefront of not only making buildings liveable - but living. It's a small firm that has consistently punched above its weight since it was formed over two decades ago - and last night received the 2024 Gold Medal from the New Zealand Institute of Architects. The Institute cites their "radical sustainability, exploration of bi-cultural collaboration and incorporation of te ao Māori into their ground-breaking designs". The company was the first architecture firm to obtain a JUST label for social justice and the first to achieve B-Corp certification. Two of their recent projects, Victoria University's Ngā Mokopuna building and Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pā Reo Campus in Otaki were designed to be living buildings - fully sustainable - of which there are only 30 in the world. They join Kathryn to explain their remarkable partnership and projects.

09:45 UK: Starmer's Ukraine-US tightrope, spending cuts, Rishi breaks silence

UK correspondent Matt Dathan looks at how PM Keir Starmer has positioned himself as an interlocutor between Zelensky and Trump. He's also hit back at comments by US Vice-President JD Vance who was accused of disrespecting British troops. Four British ambassadors have expressed concern about the future of intelligence sharing, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is planning spending cuts and former PM Rishi Sunak has broken his silence about his record election defeat in a two-hour BBC interview.

Matt Dathan is Home Affairs Editor at The Times

10:05 Australian artist Jodee Mundy brings her story of being a child of deaf adults to the stage 

 Melbourne based interdisciplinary artist Jodee Mundy grew up interpreting and being a conduit of information as the only hearing person in her immediate family. Her first language is Australian Sign Language and she describes herself as hearing, but with a deaf heart. She has turned her experiences of being a child of Deaf adults, or CODA, into a multimedia solo performance "Personal," that opens tonight at the Q Theatre as part of the Auckland Arts Festival. Jodee Mundy joins Kathryn to talk about her life as a CODA and how she is bringing her performance to both a deaf and hearing audience.

10:35 Book review: When the Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole by Geoff Parkes 

Louise Ward of Wardini Books reviews When the Deep, Dark Bush Swallows You Whole by Geoff Parkes published by Penguin Random House

10:45 Around the motu: Kirsty Pickett in Te Anau

Milford Sound has received just a third of its usual rainfall in the first two months of this year, Pāmu has a new plan to halt the spread of wilding pines, the number of Fiordland’s cycle trail users has almost doubled, a new charity has been set up to provide venison to needy families, and volunteer hut wardens on the Kepler Track will no longer be offered a helicopter ride to take up their post this winter.

Kirsty Pickett is the co owner of the Southland App based in Te Anau, covering Southland and Fiordland.

11:05 Tech: Why MFA isn't always the solution, North Korea's Bybit heist

Cyber security expert Tony Grasso looks at why multi-factor authentication isn't always the solution to preventing a cyber attack. And the recent cryptocurrency heister involving the Bybit exchange has brought renewed attention to North Korea's sophisticated cyber activities.

Tony Grasso is Principal Consultant at cybersecurity firm TitaniumDefence. He worked at GCHQ in the UK and is a former Intelligence Officer in New Zealand

11:25 What's up with our boys? Big Buddy's co-CEO shares his thoughts

Steve Sobota is the co-CEO of an organisation called Big Buddy, and has been matching boys without a dad in their life with positive male role models for nearly 25 years. We know that boys' achievement at school has been lagging behind girls, and that boys are more at risk of behavioural issues and mental health issues. So what can be done to help support boys as they grow to adulthood? Steve has some thoughts based on his near two-decades of work with the organisation.

 

11:45 Screentime: Black Dog, End of the Valley, Oscar winners

Tamar Munch joins Kathryn to talk about Black Dog (cinemas), where a former stunt motorcyclist returns to his hometown on the outskirts of the Gobi Desert, avoiding the local gangster while trying to seek the bounty placed on a wild dog in a pre-2008 Summer Olympic dog roundup. End of the Valley, a drama about opposition to a land claim, screens from tonight on Whakaata Māori. And Tamar has her picks of the best movies to watch from the list of Oscar winners.