Nine To Noon

Working from home has become the new normal for many since the Covid pandemic, and many tout it as being a game changer for employees mental and physical wellbeing. No more long commutes, the ability to do school pick-ups or more easily care for family members, fitting work in and around those commitments. But some new research suggests the reality is more complicated. Microsoft's 2022 New Future of Work studied 31,000 employees in 31 countries. It found while working from home can improve job satisfaction, half of all remote workers felt socially isolated, guilty and trying to overcompensate. Kathryn speaks with clinical psychologist Jacqui Maguire, who says it's a important topic with her corporate and organisational clients.

Today Nine to Noon looks at the way free dental care is provided to under-18s in New Zealand, amid concerns it's failing to keep up with greater needs and spiralling treatment costs. Children under the age of 18 are entitled to receive free standard dental care, with dentists who enter into a Combined Dental Agreement funded between $130 and $220 per patient. Costs for any additional treatments are also fixed. But some dentists say a new three-year contract which came into force on July 1st - even with an uplift in funding - doesn't reflect the reality of the complex treatments they're actually providing. Kathryn discusses how the funding model works with Dr Katie Ayres of the New Zealand Dental Association and why practices are forced to cover the shortfall through their private patients with Christchurch dentist Sam Brady.

Media commentator Andrew Holden joins Kathryn to look at the harassment experienced by Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa in the Philippines, while her fellow winner Dmitry Muratov also had his independent newspaper shut down. A Fijian journalist expelled from a press conference during a visit of the Chinese foreign minister spotted two Chinese embassy officials pretending to be reporters at the Pacific Islands Forum, and ABC in Australia is to get a five-year funding model that the new Government says will make it 'safe' from political interference and manipulation. Andrew Holden is a journalist for more than 30 years including five as Editor of The Press (in Christchurch) and four as Editor-in-Chief of The Age in Melbourne.

Tamati Rakena was on track for a career in the Moerewa meatworks, but ended up with a Masters degree and founding a bush clothing business. He left school with no particular direction and AFFCO was beckoning. Many of his Kaikohe based family have been employed there and for a time he worked as a meat processor. His direction changed when he met his partner who inspired him to enrol in University to train as a teacher. In 2019, Tamati was awarded a University of Auckland Kupe Leadership Scholarship. With a Master of Education under his belt, he's now changed direction again - founding the My Taiao Clothing brand along with his partner Huri Kamira. Tamati Rakena runs the business from Kaihohe - and spoke to Kathryn Ryan about his start-up business and the journey to get there.

Business correspondent Pattrick Smellie joins Kathryn to talk about the mega-polytech Te Pukenga , the problems it's been having and what it means for skills training during a skills crisis. He'll also talk about the review of the screen sector. Pattrick Smellie is the editor and co-founder of BusinessDesk and has reported on the New Zealand economy and business since 1983.

Quentin Johnson reviews After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz, published by Text Publishing.

World renowned Greek-Australian neuroscientist George Paxinos is described by his colleagues as one of the Australia's greatest thinkers. He's also published 57 books in the field of neuroscience. George Paxinos is a professor at the University of New South Wales and a former President of the Australian Neuroscience Society and the World Congress of Neuroscience. During his spare time out of the lab, he's written his first novel in the environmental genre, A River Divided. George Paxinos says he's had two main goals in life, the first to produce the atlas of the rat brain, and the second to write this novel. Quite simply, Professor Paxinos who is 78 says he forgot to retire!.

US correspondent Kelsey Snell details another mass shooting - this time in Indiana - which was thwarted by a bystander who shot the 20-year-old gunman dead. Meanwhile it's been revealed 400 police officers were at the scene of the Ulvade school shooting - but didn't intervene. Kelsey will also update us on the January 6 hearings - which wants deleted text messages from the Secret Service that day, and President Biden's controversial trip to Saudi Arabia. Kelsey Snell is a congressional correspondent for NPR, based in Washington DC.

It's been a year since New Zealand schools were able to sign up to an initiative that offered free period products to students who needed them. As of June 2022, 2,062 schools and kura are participating in the initiative, with over 650,000 packets of product provided since June 2021. The Ministry of Education says many schools have reported improved uptake of product and that students are getting involved in decision making and delivery of the initiative. Danika Revell is founder of The Period Place, an advocacy group for period equity. She says the initiative is great, but not without delivery challenges. And she points out - period poverty exists outside school hours of 9am - 3pm.

Annual inflation has increased 7.3 percent since the June 2021 quarter, the largest year-on-year increase for 32 years, driven by more expensive fuel, building materials, food and housing costs. Petrol prices leapt 32% over the year while diesel prices were up an eye-watering 74%, Stats NZ reported. Grocery food prices were up by marginally less than the overall inflation rate, rising 7.1%, rents were up 4.3%. Combined this has pushed the annual rate to a record 7.3 pct, the highest since June 1990. The increase cements a further hefty rate rise by the Reserve Bank next month. General Manager, Economic and Environment Insights at Statistics NZ Jason Attewell joins Kathryn Ryan to slice and dice the CPI numbers.