Nine To Noon for Thursday 29 May 2025

 

 

09:05 FENZ apologises to volunteer firefighter after 10 year battle

Fire and Emergency New Zealand has apologised unreservedly to a former volunteer firefighter for failing to properly investigate a series of complaints. It is nearly 10 years since Sarah Hullah made her first complaint to FENZ about sexual harassment. A scathing 111 page independent report by Simon Mount KC, issued yesterday, details a list of 33 failings by FENZ in handling her initial complaint and several after that. These include failure to comply with its own processes, conflicts of interest, and unreasonable delays, and a failure to learn from at least two previous, highly critical external reviews, including one by Judge Coral Shaw. The exact nature of her initial and subsequent complaints are redacted, but the report repeatedly references a culture of bullying and harassment.It finds that FENZ treated Ms Hullah as a "risk" to be managed, rather than a person with legitimate concerns. FENZ Chief Executive & National Commander Kerry Gregory says "I apologise publicly and unreservedly to Ms Hullah for the failure to properly investigate". He says bullying, harassment, and victimisation have no place in Fire and Emergency, and FENZ takes all allegations of any such behaviour very seriously.

09:20 OCR cut but warnings about inflation, unemployment

A cut to the official cash rate,  but warnings about the strength of the economy from the Reserve Bank yesterday. The Central Bank committee cut the OCR by 25 basis points, or a quarter of a per cent,  to 3.25 percent. The committe voted 5 to 1 for the cut. Its accompanying statement predicts more jobs in time, but that in the short term the labour market will remain weak and inflation will rise.
Kathryn speaks with BNZ's head of research, Stephen Toplis.

09:20 Tracking apps and their use in coercive relationships

It's natural for parents to want to know where their children are and technology has made that easier with the use of tracking apps like Life360, Find My Friends or Google Family. But research suggests that the use of these apps may have unintended consequences, normalising the idea of personal tracking to the point where young people don't recognise when a partner crosses the line from caring to coercive. Spanish researcher and academic, María Atiénzar Prieto is doing her PhD on how young people perceive the use of digital technology as a form of control in relationships. She explains to Kathryn how her work raises concerns about the failure to set appropriate digital boundaries.

09:45 UK correspondent Hugo Gye, Political Editor of The i Paper

Hugo discusses the latest over the car attack in Liverpool, government spending rows and possible drought after a dry spring.

10:05 The award winning film which captures an epic Southern Alps traverse 

Now to an award-winning short film depicting a gnarly Southern Alps crossing. Waiatoto follows a seven-day east to west adventure across the Main Divide - with the three-man team travelling on packraft, skis and on foot. Charlie Murray, Jasper Gibson and Nick Pascoe set off from the Matukituki valley and made their way across rugged terrain to the Tasman Sea via the Volta Glacier. Along the way, the group battled through snow drifts and took in epic scenery on the slopes beneath Mount Aspiring/Tititea. The 22-minute film is part of the the NZ Mountain Film and Book Festival. For their efforts, the filmmakers have been awarded the Hiddleston/ MacQueen Award and $2500 prizemoney for the Best NZ-made Film at the festival. Kathryn is joined by Jasper Gibson, who was on this incredible adventure, and Wanaka-based film maker Josh Morgan, who was brought onto the project after the fact thinking he was going to make a YouTube short - but ended up making a prize-winning film. 

10:30 FENZ National Commander apologises for complaint failings

Fire and Emergency National Commander and Chief Executive Kerry Gregory talks to Kathryn about the unreserved apology he has made to a former volunteer firefighter, Sarah Hullah, for FENZ failing to properly investigate a series of complaints. It is nearly 10 years since Ms Hullah made her first complaint to FENZ about sexual harassment. A scathing 111 page independent report by Simon Mount KC, issued yesterday, details a list of 33 failings by FENZ in handling her initial complaint and several after that.

10:35 Book review: Air by John Boyne 

Phil Vine reviews Air by John Boyne published by Penguin Random House 

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

Te Anau has hosted its first classic boat festival, Fiordland's wild wapiti herd is being considered for formal designation as a herd of special interest, 400 tamariki have pitched in to plant 1600 native trees at three sites in the Te Anau basin, and the at-risk pateke is making a comeback in Fiordland.

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

11:05 New technology with Mark Pesce is a futurist, writer, educator and broadcaster

Mark delves into ChatGPT sycophancy, faking adhd tests with AI and artificial intelligence hallucinations affecting lawsuits.

 

11:25 Raising literacy among boys - one principal's secret  

New Zealand isn't the only country to be concerned about falling student literacy rates and the gender gap in academic performance.New Australian research suggests that boys are twice as likely to be at the bottom in literacy and more likely to fall behind once they reach secondary school. But one boys' high school in North Sydney has defied those odds. Once one of the lowest ranked schools in the state, it is now one of the top for English. Principal Paul Sheather explains to Kathryn how a different teaching approach drove this incredible turnaround at Balgowlah Boys Campus. 

11:45 Screentime: with James Croot, Stuff's film and TV reviewer 

James reviews the new Wes Anderson film The Phoenician Scheme, the French Film  Festival and  Dept Q on Netflix