Nine To Noon

Auckland council water company, Watercare has just announced its 20 year plan, which outlines how $18.5 billion dollars will be spent on the city's water and wastewater network, servicing 1.7 million people. Earlier this year a mothballed dam in the Hunua Ranges was upgraded to supplement Auckland's water supply network and to help with the region's drought and the council applied to take an extra 150 million litres of water a day from Waikato River, on top of the 150 million litre allocation. Work on a new water treatment plant in Waikato is also progressing and will soon provide up to 50 million litres a day. But continued supply from the Waikato River is part of the new long range blueprint, with Watercare Chief Executive Jon Lamonte saying it is the preferred water source to meet short-term population growth.

The Local Government Minister has announced the biggest shake up to water and sewer infrastructure in generations but local councils are already split over whether they'll get on board. The plans is to merge the water services of 67 councils nationally into four mega entities, which will take over ownership of assets. But some councils are already expressing doubt - saying they've invested heavily in infrastructure and don't want to have to subsidise others. Nanaia Mahuta says without the reforms, councils and ratepayers will struggle to pay for more than $120 billion dollars of infrastructure needed over the next three decades, and warns if they opt for the status quo, the costs will fall to ratepayers.

This week, Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles tells us about a new study that could point the way to making face masks that can detect the COVID-19 virus and explains how to spot disinformation. Associate Professor Dr Siouxsie Wiles is the head of Bioluminescent Superbugs Lab at the University of Auckland.

A new nationwide survey has shone a light on the rise of misinformation and the concern New Zealanders have about it. The research commissioned by the Classification Office has found exposure to false or misleading information is common. Around half of respondents believed in at least one false idea among a range presented in the survey, such as "Covid 19 is caused by 5G", "vaccines are ineffective and unsafe" and "climate change is not caused by human activity". The chief censor, David Shanks, says we're living in the age of the infodemic, and misinformation is undermining trust in traditional sources of information.

Quentin Johnson reviews The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell, published by Penguin Random House NZ .

Daniel Howell was a huge YouTube star with millions of followers, when, in 2017 he uploaded a video called 'Daniel and Depression'. It's since been watched 3.7 million times. The former BBC Radio 1 presenter has amassed a huge following on YouTube over the past ten years, producing comedy videos, or as he puts it 'just being a clown on the internet'. The way his story of suffering depression was received surprised Daniel, with words of support and appreciation for the way he'd opened up - pouring in. Since then he's candidly shared his experience with mental health both over the internet and on stage, and also used the online platform to come out in 2019. Daniel has now written a practical guide to coping with mental health issues, a book says he wishes he had, when he was younger. It's called "You Will Get Through This Night."

Annika Smethurst joins Kathryn for the latest on the Covid outbreak across Australia which has sent parts of four states into lockdown, efforts by Scott Morrison's government to make the AstraZeneca vaccine available to anyone under 40 who wants it and Australia's new deputy Prime Minister is fined for not wearing a mask.

New Zealand Primary Healthcare GP of the Year Glen Davies is driving an approach to tackling diabetes in Taupo, in total reversing 124 cases of type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. He established R.T.2.D.T - the Reverse Type 2 Diabetes TaupÅ group, promoting eating low-carbohydrate and nutrient rich unprocessed foods. Glen Davies is a member PreKure, a team of health professionals interested in the science and practice of lifestyle medicine. Glen foresees health coaches to take the place of GPs and practice nurses.

The Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft and National Survivors Advocate Louise Nicholas are among voices advocating for a nationwide survey similar to the one conducted by the British equivalent of the Education Review Office, Ofsted. They say it's the only way to get a true picture of the extent of sexual harassment - and worse - faced by school students. The UK research by Ofsted found sexual harassment and online sexual abuse are such a routine part of students' daily lives they don’t see any point in challenging or reporting it. Kathryn speaks with Education Review Office Chief Executive, Nicholas Pole.

Three students from Christchurch Girls High School have made formal complaints to police of incidents of sexual abuse.This follows the release on Monday of a survey of 700 students from the school - 59 per cent of whom reported experiencing sexual harassment with 20 students described being raped by individuals or groups. Police from the specialist Child Protective Team have been on site at Christchurch girls high since Monday morning when the survey was released. Kathryn speaks with Detective Inspector Greg Murton.