Nine To Noon

Kathryn gets an update from Tasman Region Civil Defence Emergency Management group controller Alec Louverdis about the situation in Nelson, where 233 homes have been evacuated and a state of emergency declared after the Maitai River burst its banks yesterday afternoon.

New figures show inflation rose 10.1 percent in July, the highest in more than 40 years. The spike in inflation is largely down to food prices and staples. It has resulted in the contenders in the Tory leadership race, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss trading barbs over each other's economic policies. And after weeks of dry, hot weather, heavy rain has brought flash floods across parts of England and sewage pollution warnings at more than 40 beaches and swimming spots in England and Wales.

Falling victim to an online scam is bad enough, but what if someone hijacks your business's social media account, pretends to be you - and then successfully scams other people? It happened to Sarah, who runs a floral business called Print and Petal. She lost control of her Instagram account, and later discovered her followers had been encouraged into click on links for cryptocurrency scams - which some of them did, and lost a lot of money over. Last year Netsafe had almost 15,000 complaints of attacks designed to either harm a computer system or its users. Kathryn speaks with Sarah, and Alastair Miller, Principal Advisory Consultant at Aura Information Security, about the increase in such attacks, where users are vulnerable and why small business owners who rely on social media need to have a plan of what to do if they get hacked.

Some Nelson residents evacuated from their homes yesterday due to flooding are returning to look at the damage. 223 homes near the city centre were evacuated yesterday when the Maitai River broke its banks as relentless rain hammered the region. Another ten homes had to be evacuated in the Tahunanui Hills overnight due to a slip. Maggie Gray was one of those evacuated from her Nile Street home yesterday afternoon - she joins Kathryn as she returns to her property to find out how it has fared.

The Electricity Authority says very large electricity contracts will only be allowed under certain conditions, under a new interim restriction just announced this morning. The move targets very large, discounted wholesale contracts such as that of the Tiwai Aluminium Smelter - which it says has the potential to make small consumers pay more. Last year the Authority estimated the impact of Tiwai's discounted power, could potentially lead to households paying up to $200 extra on their electricity bills each year. The new restriction will be for nine months, while a proposed permanent amendment is consulted on. Kathryn speaks with the Electricity Authority's Chief Executive James Stevenson-Wallace.

The Reserve Bank hiked interest rates once again yesterday - taking the official cash rate up half a percet to 3 percent - part of its agressive campaign to tackle inflation which has hit a 30 year high. The central bank says higher interest rates are needed to cool the economy, the strong rise in wages and other domestic cost pressures. It also signalled two more hikes to come, in October and November, topping out at four per cent. So is inflation on the turn? And what is the liklihood of a recession as things stand? Kathryn speaks with economist and head of research at the BNZ bank, Stephen Toplis.

In the legal slot today we look at how consent can be used as a defence by someone accused of serious sexual offending against a child.

Friedensreich Hundertwasser was an artist, architect, environmentalist and intellectual, born in Vienna but for whom New Zealand was home for 30 years. He is best known for the unique public toilets in Kawakawa, and now the Hundertwasser Art Centre in Whangarei - opened 22 years after his death. Hundertwasser called New Zealand "the promised land" and his deams began early, when his mother would tell him stories as they hid from the Nazis in Second World War Vienna. A new book on Hundertwasser's life and work has just been released - written by Austrian artist, historian and curator Andreas Hirsh. The book was initiated by the Hundertwasser Foundation in Vienna in collaboration with the Hundertwasser Art Centre in Whangarei.

Gina Rogers reviews Diana, William and Harry by James Patterson, published by Penguin Random House NZ

A red MetService warning is in place for Buller and Westland, and a state of emergency has been declared in Westland. Further north, orange level warnings are in place for the Tasman, Marlborough and Nelson regions. Flooding in Golden Bay is leaving some residents stranded, as roads become impassable, and there is concern for river levels once high tide arrives this afternoon. Collingwood has had 100mm of rain in the last 5 hours, with up to 30mm per hour. Kathryn hears more about the flooding in Golden Bay from Wayne Langford, a farmer in Takaka.