Nine To Noon

Liquidations within the construction sector are on the rise but industry experts says they're the tip of the iceberg. A total of 92 companies in the building sector have gone into liquidation in the year to May 23, according to figures from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Data from the credit rating agency Centrix shows 27 percent of all liquidations in May 2022 were in the building sector. Accounting & Advisory Firm BDO does an annual survey of the sector - last year's found 60 per cent of respondents were concerned about rising material costs, and the availability of important materials. Over half had issues with finding skilled staff, and labour costs. BDO has delayed this year's survey til later in the year but Partner and construction specialist James MacQueen says the signs are clear and there'll be significant changes in the sector through the winter. He speaks with Kathryn along with Executive Director of the Construction Industry Council, Graham Burke.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has this morning survived a vote of no confidence brought against him, but it's clear a large proportion of his own Conservative Party no longer support him. Of the 359 Tory MPs who voted today - 211 expressed confidence in Mr Johnson, while 148 voted against him. Under the current rules of the Conservative Party, the PM can't be challenged in a leadership vote again for 12 months. Kathryn speaks with UK correspondent Matthew Parris.

Comedians Te Radar and James Elliott bring a few laughs.

Lynn talks sport with our commentator Sam Ackerman, where they look at the path to get to New Zealand Rugby's Silver Lake deal, and the road ahead - as well as analyse the start of the Black Caps versus Brendon McCullum's England first test and Super Rugby playoffs.

The debut album from Chicago trio Horsegirl is released today, and it's a rough and ready noise-pop ripper. We'll hear two tracks from it, plus a great new single from Wellington band Let's Planet and a collaboration between drummer/ producer Julien Dyne and singer/ rapper Che Fu.

Martene McCaffrey of Unity Books Auckland reviews Bitter Orange Tree by Jokha Alharthi, published by Simon & Schuster.

Professor Brian Greene is one of the world's foremost theoretical physicists. He is the head of Columbia University's Center for Theoretical Physics, and is co-founder and chairman of the World Science Festival. The author of six bestselling books, his most recent, Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe, explains the cosmos and our quest to find meaning in the face of this vast expanse. Professor Greene says to understand the history of our universe - and it's future - we must understand that humans have only existed in it for a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of its history.

Lynns speaks with RNZ Pacific's team leader Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor about China's whistle-stop tour of the Pacific and the waves that's causing in Australia and New Zealand. Also, Samoa celebrates 60 years of independence, and in Papua New Guinea, two have died in election-related violence.

An award winning author young adult books are not given the prominence they deserve by publishers and reviewers, and the next generation of readers is suffering the consequences. Tessa Duder is the author of dozens of books for children and young adults. She won the 2020 Prime Minister's Award Fiction, has twice been honoured in the Queens Birthday list and is past president of the NZ Society of Authors. Tessa Duder says Young Adult books are often dismissed by publishers who think that teens are more interested in their phones than books. But she says YA books are needed more than ever, to help foster the next generation of adult readers.

A top doctor is warning that long waits in over-run emergency departments this winter could result in increased illness, injury and death. Cases of influenza and Covid-19 are already putting pressure on hospitals, and the health system is now preparing for outbreaks of RSV, measles and whooping cough. Although winter has only just begun, demand for urgent medical attention is already high with some people waiting more than 24 hours to be admitted to hospital, and EDs so full that ambulances are unable to unload. Many hospital emergency departments are pleading with people to only show up if they're seriously sick, and to visit their GP in the first instance. It comes on top of an acute staffing shortage, with staff illness putting more strain on pre-pandemic workforce woes. Lynn speaks with Dr John Bonning, spokesperson for the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine and Dr Christine McIntosh, Clinical Director for Whanau HQ, the home isolation service for the northern region health centre.