Nine To Noon for Wednesday 30 April 2025

 

09:05 Physician associates - health workforce solution?

The Health Minister's latest move to improve on the delivery of healthcare is a consultation over workforce regulation. "Putting Patients First" says it is looking to "streamline access" and "right-size" the regulations  around qualifications. The consultation document says currently there has been no incentive for regulators to identify new professions. But while consultation was still underway, one health role that operates in the US, Canada and the UK - Physician Associate - is now to become a regulated profession here as well. But what  do physician associates actually do and will a new regulated profession help with staff shortages or leave some patients seeing less qualified providers? Kathryn speaks to Lisa deWolf New Zealand Physician Associate Society (NZPAS) Regulation Chair and a long time physician associate herself and Ben Gray an Associate Professor at Otago University in primary healthcare and a former GP.

09:30 Cornerstone of Christchurch theatre returns to the city 

The Court Theatre returning to the central city in Christchurch this week, fourteen years on from the devastating quakes that drove it out of the Arts Centre. The Court will open the doors to a brand new $61.4 million building on the corner of Colombo and Gloucester Streets this weekend. The five-year build has resulted in a state-of-the-art two-theatre complex with the main auditorium able to seat almost 400 people. And it's already got a busy season booked. In our Christchurch studio are Steve Wakefield, the chair of the Court Theatre board, and Yvonne Martin, an actress who's been performing with the theatre for 45 years.

09:45 Australia: Election campaign draws to close, Welcome to Country controversy

Australia correspondent Chris Niesche looks at how the last polls are falling for the Albanese government and opposition parties ahead of the election this weekend. Chris breaks down how the campaign has been run by both major parties, and how each are likely to fund their large spending promises. Peter Dutton says the indigenous Welcome to Country ceremony is overdone, following boos and jeering on Anzac Day.

10:05 Shilo Kino: 'Writing this book was a form of medicine'

Author Shilo Kino won a major award for her first book The Pōrangi Boy- and now her first novel for adults - released last year - is a finalist in Ockham Book Awards. All that We Know is about a young woman reclaiming her reo as a disconnected urban Māori. Shilo Kino is up against some heavyweights of the New Zealand literary scene for the premiere fiction prize -  including Laurence Fearnley, Damien Wilkins, Tina Makereti and Becky Manawatu. Shilo Kino, who is also an accomplished journalist,  has herself gone back to kura, to learn te reo - completing a year long immersion course at  Te Wānanga Takiura in Tamaki Makaurau a couple of years ago. She says "being able to stand in front of a crowd and speak confidently from my heart in the language of my tīpuna means more to me than anything". She tells Kathryn Ryan how writing the book helped her confront grief and find peace. Shilo Kino will be appearing at the Auckland Writers Festival 13–18 May.

10:35 Book review: The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue 

Elisabeth Easther reviews The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue published by Pan Macmillan

10:45 Around the motu: Alisha Evans in Tauranga

Five Tauranga homeowners are desperate for a solution three years after a huge slip forced them out of their homes, but the council is refusing to help. Street dining fees in Mount Maunganui have left a sour taste for businesses. A high court judge has dismissed an injunction stopping the controversial sale of Tauranga’s Marine Precinct. 

Tauranga based Local Democracy Reporter Alisha Evans has all the details.

11:05 Music: Short, long, short - what's going on with the length of songs?

Short songs offer musicians a restrictive compositional palette whereas longer songs afford freedom for the artist to craft more complex and sophisticated work. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s the average length of a pop song heard on the radio was 2 minutes and 50 seconds. Progressing through the 1970s and 1980s, by the mid 1990s this average had stretched out to a whopping 4 minutes and 14 seconds. Post 2000, in the era of streaming, the average has contracted again and today’s releases average 3 minutes and 15 seconds. Examining these fluctuations, Dr Ian Chapman offers insights and critiques a variety of songs across various styles from smash hits to blatant gimmicks. The question: Can short equal great?

Ian Chapman is Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Music at the University of Otago. 

11:20 Where heart meets art - Wellington's hand crafted cremation urn business, Vaso

When Bridgit Sisson's beloved mum Barbara died in October 2023, she wanted to keep her ashes close in a beautiful vessel. But she couldn't find anything that she felt resembled her: simple, stylish, and slightly unpredictable. Just at that time, she met the ceramicist Craig Spencer - and the idea for Vaso crystalised. They've collaborated on a range of hand crafted cremation urns for loved ones -  both human and pet. Each is unique and she hopes to work with different local artists on limited edition runs. Bridgit joins Kathryn to talk about where heart meets art.

11:45 Where house sellers made 100% gains within 5 years

RNZ's Money Correspondent Susan Edmunds has been looking at the data which shows the regions where house sellers were able to bank a sizeable capital gain - in some cases more than 100 percent after only owning the house for five years. She joins Kathryn to talk about what drove the increases and whether we could see them again. 

Susan Edmund is RNZ's Money Correspondent