Nine To Noon for Friday 1 November 2024

 

09:05 Commission files proceedings against GIB manufacturer

The Commerce Commission has filed proceedings against GIB manufacturer Winstone Wallboards for anti-competitive behaviour.The watchdog says Winstone's use of rebates after purchases to damage competition led to  higher prices for consumers between 2017 and 2022.The commission says it has filed proceedings under sections 27 and 36 of the Commerce Act in the Auckland High Court against the company, which is a subsidiary of Fletcher Building.Gyles Beckford is RNZ's business editor.

09:15 Pharmac funds estrogen gel amid HRT patch shortage

From today, Pharmac is to fund a new form of hormone replacement therapy, after years of campaigning by doctors and patients. Hormone therapy patches, which are used to mitigate the symptoms of estrogen deficiency, have been hard to access for over two years due to a global shortage and an increase in prescriptions. Women here have had to shop around multiple pharmacies and pay for extra lower dose patches to make up their prescribed dosages. A transdermal gel - Estrogel - will be funded from today - available by prescription. Unfunded, it can cost up to $70 per month. Doctors have long criticised Pharmac for being too slow to intervene in funding new treatments,  as women struggled with the shortage. Megan Ogilvie is an endochonologist with ERH in Auckland, and she speaks to Kathryn.

09:20 Trucking industry backs TAIC to take on heavy vehicle accident investigations 

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission wants to expand the types of investigations it undertakes ... heavy vehicles is one idea, also infrastructure, space incidents, and the ability to undertake inquiries on behalf of other nations - particularly in the Pacific. Currently the Commission's mandate restricts it to marine, rail and air accidents. The Minister responsible for TAIC Matt Doocey was briefed on the chief commissioner's desire to expand its remit early this year. He was told by Ministry of Transport officials a number of international counterparts have investigative responsibility for heavy road vehicles, and some infrastructure, and that TAIC's expertise could be put to use more widely. Dom Kalasih is the interim chief executive of Transporting NZ, the national industry association representing road freight transport companies including trucks and couriers, and says the sector would welcome the move. 

09:32 Philip Polkinghorne sentenced at Auckland High Court

Retired eye surgeon Philip Polkinghorne has been sentenced to 150 hours of community work for methamphetamine charges at the  High Court at Auckland this morning.The former Auckland eye doctor was found not guilty of murdering his wife, Pauline Hanna, after a trial lasting nine-week earlier this year. RNZ reporter Finn Blackwell is at the court.

09:35 2024 Short Story Competition winners announced

Five winners have been announced in Nine to Noon's 2024 Short Story competition. Judges Harry Ricketts and Tina Tina Makereti have named these stories as their top five:

Girlhood by Stella Weston

Qiu Miaojin is Still Alive by Mia Farlane

Logbook by Hattie Salmon

Untitled by Nick McGregor

Motel California by Danielle Deluka

The stories named today will be purchased by RNZ, adapted for radio and broadcast before Christmas. Harry and Tina talk to Kathryn about why made these entries stand out.

09:45 Pacific correspondent Koroi Hawkins

Kiribati's president-elect Taneti Maamau has secured 55 percent of votes. It is his third term in office with the ruling Tobwaan Kiribati Party. Koroi also talks to Kathryn about the outcome of Pacific Islands Forum leaders fact-finding mission to New Caledonia.  And the official Pacific cyclone season starts today and runs through to the end of April.

RNZ Pacific Editor Koroi Hawkins 

10:05 Rick Astley on his music, fame - and the weird way he got a new generation's attention

Never Gonna Give You Up is, of course, the song that propelled British singer Rick Astley to sudden stardom in 1987. He followed up with other chart-toppers, including Whenever You Need Somebody, leading the boy from Lancashire off on a life of TV appearances, world tours and celebrity attention. But as he reveals in his new autobiography, Never, there was always a yearning for stability, something he didn't have growing up in a Portakabin with his volatile father. Rick found it for a while, a quieter life with his partner - later wife - Lene and daughter Emilie. Then came rickrolling - the bait-and-switch trick to get someone to click on the Never Gonna Give You Up music video. The video's generated well over 1.5b views and introduced a new generation to his music. And his music rolled with changes in life too. In 2016 he released his album, 50, to mark the milestone birthday  - it shot to number one. His latest - and ninth - studio album Are We There Yet came out last year. Rick talks to Kathryn about his struggle with fame and why it was finally time to make peace with the unusual trajectory of his life.

10:35 Book Review -  This Is How You Remember It by Catherine Prasifka

Eden Denyer from Unity Books Wellington reviews This Is How You Remember It by Catherine Prasifka, published by Canongate

10:45 Around the motu: Amy Williams in Auckland

Amy discusses the controversy this week over the decision to move Western Springs Speedway,  also an update on the CRL stations taking shape and midtown rejuvenation. And the escalating challenges Auckland food banks have of increased demand and less funding, 

Amy Williams is RNZ's Auckland issues reporter.
 

11:05 Music reviewer Grant Smithies​

Two mighty compilations of funk productions by self-appointed the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, have just been reissued. We’ll hear a couple of crucial tunes from those today, followed by some psychedelic folk from Christchurch band Wurld Series and a cosmic jazz classic from Wellington’s Orchestra Of Spheres. 

11:30 Sports commentator Sam Ackerman

Big occasions await for a series of NZ sporting teams both here and overseas - Sam Ackerman breaks down what awaits the All Blacks, Black Caps and Kiwis - as well as the first ever all NZ A-league derby between Auckland FC and the Wellington Phoenix.

11:45 The week that was

Comedians Irene Pink and Donna Brookbanks with some of the lighter stories of the week, including a cartoon character mascot unveiled by the Vatican in the hope of engaging young people.