Nine To Noon

Jenna Todd reviews Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent, published by Penguin NZ

World chess champions Dana Reizniece-Ozola and Anastasia Sorokina are in New Zealand as part of a global initiative by the World Chess Federation to promote chess, especially among women and girls. Dana Reizniece-Ozola is the deputy chair on the board of the World Chess Federation, FIDE, She is a Woman Grand Master, and is also the former Latvian Minister of Economics and Minister of Finance. Anastasia Sorokina is a Woman International Master, the chair of FIDE's Women's Commission and was the president of the Belarus Chess Federation for several years. Their tour comes as chess is experiencing a surge in popularity, boosted in part by the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, as well as the success of TV shows like The Queen's Gambit on Netflix. The world's the largest online chess platform, chess.com, now has more than 100 million members, with over 10 million games of chess played per day.

Donald Trump is facing four criminal investigations that Ximena says are very much on the front burner even as the former president is trying to seek re-election. This includes the New York hush money case involving a payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels to cover an alleged affair that he denies. President Joe Biden has been in Canada where he announced an agreement with Canada on migration curbs and the Vice President Kamala Harris is spending time in three African countries. Ximena Bustillo is an NPR politics reporter based in Washington

Last week the National Party released its 'Teaching the Basics Brilliantly' policy for primary and intermediate schools. It would require an hour of reading, writing and maths each day, twice-yearly testing for students from Year 3, and a rewrite of the curriculum to clearly state what must be taught in these areas each year. Also last week, a government document redefining the curriculum was also released, termed a common-practice model. Both parties are aiming to reverse declining student achievement in reading, writing and maths when compared to international standards. Dr Lisa Darragh, a lecturer in mathematics education at the University of Auckland, speaks with Kathryn about what she make of the proposals.

A centralised approach to growing food specifically for export is affecting the country's food security, according to advocacy group, Eat New Zealand. Growing food in places that make it easy to export, rather than with a focus on local distribution puts New Zealand in a vulnerable position when large scale events occur. The two major cyclones that hit Tairawhiti, Hawkes Bay and Northland earlier this year have devastated the country's crops of potatoes, kumara, garlic, and onions. Eat New Zealand says food security is also at risk due to the supermarket duopoly. The organisation wants to see a national food strategy to improve outcomes for domestic food production and to create a more resilient food system. Kathryn speaks to Angela Clifford, the chief executive of Eat New Zealand.

The number of people caught up in the hacking of data from financial company Latitude is higher than first thought - so what options are there for affected Kiwis? Latitude was hacked two weeks ago, with an initial 330,000 people at risk - but that's now risen to 14 million - including 7.9 million Kiwis and Australians whose driver's licences were stolen. Kiwibank has confirmed at least 2000 customers' ID details have been taken. Kathryn speaks to Keith McLaughlin of Centrix Credit Bureau about what people can do to protect themselves from identity fraud.

Bill McKay looks at Auckland Council's proposed budget - it's the last day for Aucklanders to make a submission - and an old Auckland mental hospital is being demolished to make way for a brownfield redevelopment. Bill McKay is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland.

On a Far North beach, in Taipa, James Moore can often be found barefoot, shlepping buckets of sea water from the ocean to his truck. Back home, James runs the water through his solar-powered evaporation tanks, leaving behind crystals of savoury seasoning. He's the owner of the Taipa Salt Pig, a company specialising in award-winning sea salts. Flavours include garlic, chilli and even squid ink, while his top-selling Citrus Zest Sea Salt won gold at last year's Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards. Taipa Salt Pig also collects the water vapour and distills it to produce a range of water products, under the label Ocean Water. The idea earnt him a silver medal at the 2022 Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards. James Moore also shares a recipe for Curry Basil Broccoli Bisque.

Gareth and Tim join Kathryn to talk about the protests that greeted Posie Parker in Auckland over the weekend and forced her to leave the country ahead of her Wellington event. They'll also look at National's education plan and the government's alternative 'common practice' model, child poverty statistics and the return of Winston Peters. Gareth Hughes is a former Green MP and now works for the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa. Tim Hurdle is a former National party advisor and was campaign director for National at the 2020 election.

David joins Kathryn to look at a big day on the area's calendar: the return of the Oxford A&P show. Agricultural shows are vital to the district's economy, which really took a hit through Covid-induced cancellations. Volunteers have been kept busy helping fledgling shearwater birds who crash land around the Kaikoura coast - they're part of the Hutton's Shearwater Charitable Trust which runs its Flysafe campaign in March and April.