Nine To Noon

Analysis by a financial journalist has found the Government's Covid-19 policies have made the wealthy hundreds of billions of dollars richer, while the poor sunk $400 million further into debt to the Government itself. Bernard Hickey says the explosion in inequality has been driven by government and Reserve Bank interventions, including quantitative easing - effectively the printing of money - which has been blamed in part for fuelling the surge in house prices over the past two years. Bernard Hickey, formerly of interest.co.nz, now writing the political and economic blog The Kaka, says the Labour Government, supported by the Green Party, has presided over the biggest transfer of wealth from current and future renters, to asset owners, in the history of New Zealand. He goes through the numbers with Kathryn.

With the advent of Omicron in the community, Science commentator Dr Siouxsie Wiles answers listeners questions about this highly transmissable Covid strain.

The natural world has always held a fascination for people, and James Ryan is no different - but he HAS taken it one step further than his peers. The 12-year-old Cantabrian has written a book about it, focused on the tools animals carry with them that allow them to defend themselves and hunt their prey. It's called Nature's Wildlife Weapons, and looks at the tusks, antlers, horns and claws of various creatures - some living, some extinct - and how they're used. James has been a regular at the Canterbury Museum for as long as he can remember, and he dedicates the book to the Museum staff who helped him access some of their artefacts. Canterbury Museum is also hosting the book launch tomorrow, as it coincides with its Fur, Fangs and Feathers exhibition, which showcases taxidermied animals from its collection. James joins Kathryn, along with Dr Paul Scofield, Canterbury Museum's senior curator, natural history.

Paul Diamond reviews three of his favourite books from last year: The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey by Julia Laite published by Allen and Unwin; The Forgotten Coast by Richard Shaw published by Massey University Press and James Courage Diaries edited by Chris Brickell published by Otago University Press

Night time for Waitakere-based author Annette Lees, is magical and beguiling. It transforms the senses and the landscape. But most of us miss out on it most the time. It's when the nocturnal world comes alive with night birds, singing insects, dancing moths, native fish, all under a canopy of stars. And, says Annette, who's been an outdoor enthusiast since childhood, it's the perfect time to go tramping. She has, she says "a lifetime of night walking memories". After Dark - Walking into the Nights of Aotearoa is Annette's latest book.

Across the Tasman, on Australia Day there is much finger-pointing over who is responsible for the inability to buy rapid antigen tests, or RATs, as parents prepare to send their kids back to school next week. The federal government has been copping huge criticism for not being prepared with an adequate supply of RATs when the omicron wave hit in December.

Warnings we can't afford to retire unless Kiwis save up to $800,000 to top up the pension are coming from a research centre interested in improving the financial wellbeing of New Zealanders. The latest Retirement Expenditure Guidelines from the New Zealand Financial Education and Research Centre say must expect to finance retirement over and above that which NZ Super affords retirees. The guidelines, produced annually, and based on Stats NZ data, calculate what retirees currently spend to maintain either a 'no frills' retirement, or a 'choices' lifestyle that includes some luxuries, calculating an extra $809,000 is needed to fund a 'choices' lifestyle for a couple living in a city. $511,000 would help for a couple living in the regions. Report author, Associate Professor Claire Matthews is from the Massey Business School, where the guidelines were produced speaks with Kathryn Ryan, along with Palmerston North retiree Mal Stone.

The Children's Commissioner and one of her predecessors are speaking out against plans to scrap the Commissioner role and overhaul the monitoring of Oranga Tamariki. The bill would replace the Children's Commissioner role with a new Children and Young Person's Commission, which would be run by a board of three to six members. It also plans to set up a new monitor of Oranga Tamariki, bringing it within the purview of the Education Review Office. Kathryn speaks with Judge Frances Eivers, the current Children's Commissioner, and Dr Russell Wills, a paediatrician and former Children's Commissioner, serving from 2011 to 2016.

Financial Planner Liz Koh with new research revealing the skills - and challenges - for women handling finance.

An exploration of lifestyles around New Zealand's coastlines and waterways through Derek Morrison's book, Living the Dream. Derek was NZ Geographic's 2018 Photographer of the Year. His book has stunning images from around the motu and it shows and tells the stories of people who live by the water, with many and varied lifestyles and ways to make a living. From the Seaweed pickers in the far North to the home of a surfing family in St Clair, Dunedin. One of the properties featured is writer and historian Janet Abbott's cottage, Rosy Morn at Boulder Bay near Godley Head, Christchurch. Janet tells of the colourful history of the settlement and of her stone and clay bach.