Nine To Noon

New Zealand's video game industry is at risk of losing out to Australia as game studios look to take advantage of new tax incentives across the Tasman. Companies here are expected to be eligible for a 40% tax break if they move or expand into Australia. The NZ Game Developers Association says this will halt the growth of what has been a fast growing and promising sector, which has previously reported growing 34% each year. Already Lower Hutt studio A44 Games has expanded to Melbourne, while Wellington's PikPok has expanded offshore with a new studio in Medellin, Columbia. New Zealand's other leading studios including RocketWerkz, Runaway Play and StaplesVR are also making plans to move their thriving businesses across the Tasman.

One of the country's largest hospices says it has cut services and may have to reduce further because of a lack of funding. Totara Hospice in South Auckland, like most other hospices around the country, is partly government funded, but it has an annual shortfall of $5 million, which it tries to make up through its second hand shops and other fundraising. Overall, the hospice sector has a whopping $81 million shortfall every year and a one-off amount of $3.1 million granted just over a week ago by government has been described as "a drop in the bucket". Kathryn speaks with Tina McCafferty, Chief Executive of Totara Hospice, and Hospice NZ acting Chief Executive, Wayne Naylor.

Bill McKay talks to Kathryn about the chronic Gib shortage, the pros and cons of the product, and some alternatives. Gib is a plasterboard system in NZ, often called drywall in other parts of the world. Bill McKay is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland.

Elysian Foods has been delivering a taste of Greece to New Zealanders for over 20 years, producing a range of popular Greek dips. Elysian Foods sells traditional dips like tzatziki and taramasalata, as well as original creations like a creamy vegan olive dip. Toby Green took over the business in 2017 from the original Greek owners who were looking to retire. Since taking on the business, Toby Green set out on a mission to move to plastic-free dip containers, but found the task more difficult, and suprising, than he could have ever imaged.

Neale, Brigitte and Kathryn discuss a range of issues on the political agenda, including Jacinda Ardern's business trip to Australia this week straight off the back of her northern hemisphere visit which netted an FTA with Europe. Also, changes are coming to donations law - will it increase transparency or make people less likely to donate? And goodbye DHBs, hello Health NZ, we look at the new system that's been launched as the health sector comes under extreme pressure. Neale Jones was Chief of Staff to Labour Leader Jacinda Ardern, and prior to that was Chief of Staff to Andrew Little. He is the director of Capital Government Relations. Brigitte Morten is a director with public and commercial law firm Franks & Ogilvie and a former senior ministerial advisor for the previous National-led government.

Stella Chrysostomou of VOLUME Books in Nelson review Notes from an Island by Tove Jansson and Tuulikki Pietila For 26 summers, Tove Jansson, author of the Moomin books, and her partner Tuulikki Pietila, artist and professor, visited the remote and wild island of Klovharun in the Gulf of Finland. On this barren inhospitable skerry, they built a cabin. The island provided Tove and Tuulikki with a place to be alone and inspiration for their artistic endeavours. The book, initially published in the mid-90 in Swedish, and now available in English, is a collection of memories, notes and diary entries with 24 atmospheric illustrations (copper plate etchings and wash drawings) of the island by Pietila.

The lives of three teenagers from America's Mid-West, who are straddling two worlds is the focus of a new documentary Only I Can Hear. The girls are CODA, or Children of Deaf Adults. Only I Can Hear has been playing as part of Doc Edge Festival, has can be viewed online until 10 July. Director Heath Cozens follows the lives and different experiences of CODA identity of Nyla, McKenzie and Jessica.

Katy talks to Kathryn about the killings of British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira which has shocked Brazil and beyond. The two men were in Javari valley, home to the largest number of uncontacted tribes in the world. She also discusses the recent Colombian election result, with Colombians voting in their first ever leftist president, and first ever black Vice President. Also the case of an 11 year old girl refused an abortion by a judge in Southern Brazil. The child was eventually allowed to end the pregnancy, but President Jair Bolsonaro later said on social media that an innocent baby's life was taken in this 'tragedy' underscoring the conservatism that goes right to the top in Brazil. Katy Watson is a BBC correspondent based in Sao Paulo.

Associate Professor Mark Lauchs from the Queensland University of Technology is a specialist on an organised crime, corruption, and outlaw motorcycle gangs. He's warning Aotearoa to brace for a flood of 501 deportees in the next 12 months, many from West Sydney street gangs and Victoria's underworld. When Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern recently met with her Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, she pushed for a change to Australia's 501 deportation policy. Mr Albanese said he was committed to working through the issues, but not to amending the policy. Mark Lauchs talks to Kathryn about the various crackdown on gangs across the Tasman and whether they've worked.

Two weeks ago Australian consumer group CHOICE outed three retailers - Bunnings, The Good Guys and KMart - for collecting the biometric data of their customers. The watchdog last week referred the trio to Australia's privacy regulator, saying there's a lack of notice and consent in the collection of customers' images, and is a disproportianate response to theft and anti-social behaviour in stores. The situation across the Tasman has caused some groups here to say it's time New Zealand developed a national strategy for the use of artificial intelligence, to ensure the way it's used aligns with our expectations around privacy. Kathryn speaks with Madeline Newman, executive director of the AIForumNZ and Dr Dennis Desmond, who lecturers about cyber-intelligence at the University of the Sunshine Coast and says the technology itself is quite benign, until its aggregated with other data held about us.