Nine To Noon for Thursday 20 March 2025

09:05 Economy will be slow to recover: economist

Sluggish, limping, a slow slog.....some of the expectations of economists and commentators around how the economy is recovering.  GDP figures out later this morning are expected to show the economy grew about 0-point-3 percent in the final three months of last year. It follows a 1 percent contraction in the September quarter, and a 1.1 percent fall in the June quarter, meeting the definition of a technical recession. The BNZ's head of research, Stephen Toplis, says poor domestic consumer confidence and uncertainty in global markets are big factors holding the economy back.

09:20 Older Kiwis cutting back on food to save money - despite risks of malnutrition    

The cost of living crisis has been biting into many family's grocery shopping, but older New Zealanders maybe cutting back on food at risk to their own health. Research published 5 years ago in the Journal of Primary Health showed that out of 174 people going into residential care, 93% were either malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. Now, Age Concern fears the situation could be getting worse as it is hearing about older people who are reducing the amount of food they are buying as one of the only ways to pay the bills. Kathryn speaks to Age Concern's CEO  Karen Billings-Jensen.

09:30 Anti-pokie lobby group on legal action to cut the number of machines across the country

A number of court cases have been quietly ticking away as an anti-pokie machine lobby group works to reduce the number of machines across the country. The group - Feed Families Not Pokies Aotearoa - has had one big win, most recently in the Court of Appeal, and has other pieces of legal action in the works. The Court of Appeal case confirmed the Department of Internal Affairs had allowed class 4 gaming machines to be moved to new premises under a work-around that by-passed local councils' own bylaws. In 22 of 24 re-locations - it meant 18 machines stayed active for each venue, when without this work around they would have been required to get a new licence and only bring with them a maximum of nine machine. This went on for a decades, with the reallocations rendering the councils' relocation and sinking lid policies ineffective. Another case seeks to prove the Internal Affairs department allowed licences to operate gaming machines to be extended beyond the legal time frame, again, meaning council's relocation and sinking lid policies were never able to take effect. The group's chairperson is David Hay. 

09:45 UK: Benefits backlash, spending cuts, support for Ukraine

UK correspondent Harriet Line details the backlash for PM Keir Starmer over cuts to welfare spending which could see around a million people in England and Wales lose their disability benefits. The Chancellor is due to unveil her Spring Statement next week, which is expected to include multi-pound spending cuts. And Downing Street has committed its "unwavering support" for Ukraine, as Russia resists an immediate non-conditional ceasefire.

Harriet Line is Deputy Political Editor of the Daily Mail.

10:05 She detailed war crimes in Ukraine - then became a victim herself

"As long as a writer is read, they're still alive". These were the words Ukrainian novelist Victoria Amelina wrote as a foreword to a diary she helped to publish from Ukrainian children's author Volodymyr Vakulenko. It documented his life under occupation - he'd buried it under a cherry tree in his backyard before he was abducted and killed by Russian soldiers. Victoria found the diary, and helped get it published. His experiences were to be included as part of her own book - which was to be based on people documenting the war. But Victoria never got to finish it -  she was in a pizzaria in Donetsk region in June 2023 when it was hit by a Russian airstrike. She died in hospital a few days later. Sixty percent of Victoria's book called Looking at Women, Looking at War, was finished. A group of her friends, colleagues - and her husband Alex - decided to ensure it was published. Tetyana Teren tells Kathryn why it was vital Victoria's work wasn't lost to history.

10:35 Book review: Central Otago Couture: The Eden Hore Collection by Jane Malthus and Claire Regnault, with photos by Derek Henderson 

David Hill reviews Central Otago Couture: The Eden Hore Collection by Jane Malthus and Claire Regnault, with photos by Derek Henderson published by Te Papa Press

10:45 Around the motu: Jimmy Ellingham in Manawatu

Jimmy discusses how local school's have been tackling the recently controversial lunch issues, cat colonies are running riot in the streets, residents are fighting to save a 80kmh speed limit zone, and a coroner has released a damning review of Palmerston North Hospital's mental health ward.

Jimmy Ellingham is a RNZ Checkpoint reporter based in Palmerston North.

 

11:05 The economy moves out of recession 

The economy has rebounded more strongly than expected out of recession, on the back of improved agricultural production and tourism spending. Stats NZ data shows gross domestic product - a broad measure of economic growth - rose 0.7 percent in the three months ended December.The growth is stronger than economists' expectations. RNZ Business Editor Gyles Beckford has analysis.

11:10 Tech: Copyright vs AI, VR for prisoners, sycophantic AI

Technology commentator Mark Pesce looks at how AI is coming up against copyright and intellectual property laws - and the argument tech companies are using to keep doing what they're doing. VR headsets are being used on prisoners in solitary confinement in the US. And is your AI chatbot trying to suck up to you?

11:25 Tools to support teen mental health 

Making sense of behaviour, building meaningful routines and de-escalating high conflict moments are all key tools parents can use when wanting to support their teens' mental health.  Psychologist Andrea Temkin-Yu who has written a guide for parents wanting to work on their relationship with their teen. She is a specialist in parent-focused intervention to help young people with their mental health. An assistant professor of psychology at Weill Cornell Medicine - her book is Supporting Your Teen's Mental Health published by Oxford University Press.

11:45 Screentime: Black Bag, Adolescence, Good American Family, The Studio

Film and TV reviewer James Croot looks at a new spy thriller, Black Bag (cinemas), starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender as a couple who no longer know whether they can trust each other. Adolescence (Netflix) is a four-part series in which a 13-year-old boy is accused of murdering a classmate - The Guardian's five star review labeled this "the closest thing to TV perfection in decades". Good American Family (Disney) is based on the strange, true story of an adoption gone wrong and The Studio (Apple TV) is about a legacy Hollywood movie studio struggling to survive.

James Croot is film and television reviewer for Stuff