Nine To Noon

Farmers, growers and regional authorities in the South Island are reporting large numbers of rabbits this year. Responsiblity for pest control falls to property owners under bylaws, and if a regional authority deems a property is non-compliant, it can do the work and bill the property owner. In close to 80 recent inspections, the Otago Regional Council found 41-percent of sites non-compliant.The rabbit calicivirus was introduced to the country illegally in 1997, and for a time was successful in keeping rabbit numbers down, but never erradicated them. So what methods of control are currently being used? What is the latest research, and where is the line between public and private responsibility for control of the pests? Kathryn speaks with Dr Janine Duckworth, Wildlife Ecology and Management researcher with Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research and James Spence, Biosecurity Team Leader, for Environment Canterbury.

Rapid Antigen Covid testing is being introduced into the community over the holiday period for unvaccinated and asymptomatic people who are traveling, either by road across the Auckland border, or by plane or ferry. RATs will be available in participating pharmacies from Wednesday, for people who are required to show a negative test to travel. Results show up in about 15 minutes, and are free for eligible domestic travellers aged over 12 years. Twenty-nine large business, including airports, energy producers, food manufacturers and retirement homes have been trialing RATs since October. From Wednesday until the end of January eligible people can take a 'point of care' supervised test, in front of a pharmacist. DIY rapid antigen kits are in consideration for retail sale after this initial period However, they're not as accurate as a PCR test - some results are false positives and have to be confirmed with a PCR test done at a testing centre and processed at a laboratory. Kathryn Ryan speaks chief executive of the Pharmacy Guild Andrew Gaudin and Juliet Elvy, deputy chair of the Medical Microbiologists network.

Comedians Te Radar and Gemma Gracewood with some humourous stories.

The spotlight is on a couple of high performance coaches with the departure of Cycling NZ Sprint coach René Wolff as the investigation into the organisation continues, and criticism of Black Ferns coach Glenn Moore and his staff's approach during the horror Northern Hemisphere tour.

Kiran Dass reviews The Fell by Sarah Moss, published by Picador.

Five years ago the world's media was abuzz with allegations about incoming president Donald Trump and some - pretty salacious - details of what he'd got up to while in Russia. The so-called Trump Dossier had been prepared by Christopher Steele - a former Russia-based spy for Britain's MI6 who'd set up his own private investigation company.

Myanmar's popular leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to four years as the situation worsens further in Myanmar. In Afghanistan there are signs China, via its mining companies, are looking at opportunities for resource extraction in the latest sign of shifting power structures following the rushed exit of the US and its allies.

Almost half of psychiatrists report wanting to leave their jobs in the face of the soaring demand for mental health services. A report by the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists found three quarters of psychiatrists have reported an increase in their caseloads, and on the demands of on-call work in the last three years.

A woman whose family fled the Taliban for New Zealand when she was a child says the only option she's been left with for getting her Afghan fiancé here is to go collect him herself - which would put both of their lives at risk.

Film and TV correspondent Chris Schulz joins Kathryn to talk about a Christmas documentary that seems too ridiculous to be true - but it is. 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas (Apple TV) is the story of a Christmas-obsessed dad in Idaho whose ever-growing festivities pitted him against his neighbours. Chris will also look at what makes Icelandic cop series Trapped (TVNZ OnDemand) such a winner and he'll review Jane Campion's Power of the Dog (Netflix).