Nine To Noon for Wednesday 6 November 2024

09:05 Make university entrance stricter - academic    

The high school pathway to university is too relaxed and is leading to a drop in literacy among those taking up higher education, according to a Victoria University education academic. Dr Bronwyn Wood says while there is a drop in literacy across the board due to our increasingly digital lives, the New Zealand NCEA university entrance pathway needs to be firmer. Last week Canterbury University associate professor Mike Grimshaw said schools were not preparing students adequately for university and many were starting uni "functionally illiterate". A 2020 UNICEF report found nearly 65 per cent of 15-year-olds in New Zealand had a basic level of proficiency in maths and reading. Dr Wood says it would not take much to firm up the NCEA system's pathway to university entrance to fix the literacy issue.

09:20 Wellington startup set for expansion in Silicon Valley

Wellington software startup Projectworks is set to expand after a successfully raising $8.2 million last month, and appointing an experience US tech founder Mark Orttung as CEO. Projectworks was founded in the capital in 2019 by entrepreneurs Julian Clarke, Matthew Hayter and Doug Taylor. The business has grown to a value of $100 million in five years. Mr Orttung was co-founder of Bill.com, now a $US 1billion firm listed on Wall Street, and a founder of Nexiant, the largest US cloud services company. He and Matt Hayter tell Kathryn about plans to grow the business in the US and employ more talent in both Silicon Valley and Wellington.

09:30 Overhaul of health service on remote Bay of Plenty islands could be replicated rurally

The directors of a programme transforming healthcare for residents on remote Bay of Plenty islands say the model could be repeated in rural areas. The Tapiri Mai project is bringing telehealth to the 500 residents living on Matakana Island and 60 on Motītī Island, cutting down what used to be an hours-long trip to Tauranga for a doctors appointment. The installation of a radio mast and 4G network, as well at Starlink devices, means residents can now have specialist video consults from home, and assistance from an onsite nurse. Te Uta Roretana is the chief operations officer of the Matakana Island health service, and Hera Murray is the lead nurse on the island.

09:45 Australia: Airbus Albo, ABC apology, the Big Race

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton looks at the allegations continuing to dog Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, after a new book on how Qantas manages to corner the business travel market canvassed his friendship with then-CEO Alan Joyce. The ABC has apologised after an inquiry into a series of controversial TV stories about alleged war crimes in Afghanistan contained footage with doctored audio. And the race that stops the nation didn't stop Parliament yesterday - but MPs tried.

Karen Middleton is the political editor of The Guardian Australia

10:05 Damien Wilkins' new novel contemplates ageing and the shadows of the past

Wellington author Damien Wilkins' new novel Delirious contemplates ageing, downsizing and coming to terms with the shadows of the past. He's the author of 14 books - his first novel, The Miserables, won the NZ Book Award for Fiction in 1994. In Delirious, the main characters are Mary, an ex cop; and Pete a retired librarian - they're in their 70s and decide the sensible thing is to sell their home and move to a Retirement Village. And so the downsizing and contemplation of their lives, loves and past begins. Witi Ihimaera calls it "a marvel of a book", Elizabeth Knox describes it as "Great with capital G".

10:30: Kiwi Garth Barfoot, 88, completes New York marathon

It defeated him in 2023 - but octogenarian Garth Barfoot was determined to finish this year's New York marathon. At 88, the former real estate agent  has quite the track record: he's competed in triathlons for more than 30 years - he's also Patron of Triathlon New Zealand and a life member of the North Harbour Triathlon Club. He was the oldest competitor on Monday, New Zealand time...running the race with his daughter Kiri and a running friend Lay Cunningham - herself 73 with 52 marathons under her belt. He finished in 11 hours, 29 minutes and 49 seconds. He joins Kathryn to explain what he did differently this year.

10:35 Book review: Karla's Choice by Nick Harkaway, John le Carré 

Robert Kelly reviews Karla's Choice by Nick Harkaway, John le Carré published by Penguin Random House 

10:45 Around the motu: Alisha Evans in Tauranga

Tauranga's new mayor Mahé Drysdale has hit back at keyboard warriors who he says are making unsupported allegations against council staff on social media. The Council selling assets is also a hot topic, with Tauranga City Council selling its marine precinct for 4 million dollars below its valuation. And another sale of council land to a developer has disappointed a local hapu who wanted to build homes for whanau.   

Local Democracy reporter Alisha Evans is  based in Tauranga with SunLive 

11:05 Unemployment at near four-year high

Stats NZ numbers show the annual unemployment rate for the three months ended September rose to 4.8 percent, from  4.6 percent in the previous quarter. The rate is slightly below financial market expectations. RNZ business editor Gyles Beckford goes over the latest numbers.

11:10 Music with Charlotte Ryan

Charlotte pays tribute to Quincy Jones, plays new music from Moana & the tribe and a new local album produced by Marlon Williams.

Charlotte Ryan is host of RNZ's Music 101 programme

11:20 Peter Shaw on his pocket-sized guide to the country he loves: Japan

Peter Shaw never really had Japan on his radar.  He just happened to land there on a two-day lay-over on his way to Paris in 1989. But something happened as he wandered the street,  finding himself completely out of his depth. There were mysteries to the place he wanted to unlock. Japan, he admits, became something of an obsession. 29 trips later, the self-confessed Japanophile, has tried to capture in a new book exactly what it is about the country he loves so much. The result is Japan: An Autobiography, a pocket-sized guide to the places he's been and the things he's seen - that nicely melds Peter's experience as a journalist, music critic, art curator and design history teacher.

11:45 Science: Lizard eDNA, Otago reptile threat lists, giant wētā monitoring

Science commentator Samuel Purdie joins Kathryn to talk about research he's been involved with into lizard eDNA, the regional conservation statuses of reptiles through Otago and field surveys of Southern Alps giant wētā.

Samuel Purdie is a Queenstown-based herpetologist, wildlife photographer and science educator.