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Nights for Thursday 7 March 2024

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8:10 The House

Today MPs finished the last week of a rare four-week sitting block at Parliament, during which the government’s programme of moving legislation through under urgency continued at breakneck pace.

Simeon Brown in the House

Simeon Brown. Photo: ©VNP / Phil Smith

8:15 Pacific Waves

A daily current affairs programme that delves deeper into the major stories of the week, through a Pacific lens, and shines a light on issues affecting Pacific people wherever they are in the world. Hosted by Susana Suisuiki.

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8:30 Jukebox

Emile Donovan plays your requests - as long as you've got a compelling reason, or a good story with it.

Send in your picks to nights@rnz.co.nz or text 2101.

8:45 The Reading

Tonight, part eight of 'Fake Baby', written by Amy McDaid and read here by Alisha Jacob and Nigel Collins.

9:07 Nights Quiz

Do you know your stuff? Come on the air and be grilled by Emile Donovan as he dons his quizmaster hat.

If you get an answer right, you move on to the next question. If you get it wrong, your time in the chair is up, and the next caller will be put through. The person with the most correct answers at the end of the run goes in the draw for a weekly prize.

The quiz is themed - find out more about tonight's theme on Nights' Facebook page.

9:20 I Was There When: Lange gave the Oxford address

Almost exactly 39 years ago, New Zealand was thrust into the international spotlight by its then-prime minister David Lange.

Lange had agreed to appear at the Oxford Union to argue in the affirmative to the moot: 'The Western nuclear alliance is morally indefensible'. This is the scene where he gave the iconic line about smelling the uranium on the breath of his opposition.

One of the members of his team was New Zealander Dr Jeya Wilson.

David and Jeya stand side by side, smiling. They are both in formalwear, David in a black suit jacket and black bowtie, and Jeya in a pink dress with a black cape over the top.

Photo: Supplied

A Sri Lankan New Zealander studying a PhD in international relations at Oxford at the time, she's since gone on to have a remarkable career, working for the World Health Organisation, as chief executive of World Heart Federation in Switzerland, and establishing the world's first HIV and business centre.

She joins Emile Donovan.

10:17 Stewart Island resident gets 500 percent rates hike

A Stewart Island landowner has been trying to fight a 500 percent rates hike - from $348.68 to $1743.95 in a single year.

On the other end of the country, Auckland councillors agreed to send an invoice to the Government for a GST refund on council rates and new-build houses.

Local Government New Zealand says Councils' share of overall tax revenue has remained at two percent of GDP for the last fifty years, despite ever-increasing responsibilities.

So what are the alternatives? More of the GST take? Land value-based rather than capital? Or a completely new system altogether?

Chief Economist at The New Zealand Initiative and regular Nights contributor Eric Crampton joins Emile Donovan.

A street view of the empty section taken in 2015. In an email sent to the council, the land owner said the section had not been altered: "no buildings, no caravan, nothing"

A street view of the empty section taken in 2015. In an email sent to the council, the land owner said the section had not been altered: "no buildings, no caravan, nothing" Photo: Google Maps

10:30 Arts and culture journal shutters over 'unsurvivable' funding environment

Amidst the news that Newshub would be shutting down and TVNZ will be shedding 68 jobs to stay afloat, another part of our media landscape announced it would shutter.

The Pantograph Punch is a New Zealand arts and culture journal that's been running since 2011.

They say due to a lack of funding, the publishing environment in New Zealand is unsurvivable.

Pantograph Punch's kaiwāwahi Sherry Zhang joins Emile Donovan in the studio.

10:45 A forager's guide to mushroom season

With the arrival of March, the nights are getting colder and the mornings are getting rainier.

The weather is the perfect breeding ground for mushrooms, and New Zealand is home to tens of thousands of varities - some edible, some not.

Liv Sisson is the Ockham book award shortlisted author of Fungi of Aotearoa: A Curious Forager's Field Guide, and joins Emile Donovan to share the top tips and spots for the keen mushroom hunter.

collage of Liv Sisson and her book "fungi of Aotearoa"

Photo: Nancy Zhou

11:07 The Mixtape

As Dune: Part Two opens in cinemas this week one pair of ears will be tuning in more than most - those of Wellington based, Emmy award winning sound editor Martin Kwok.

Martin was the sound editor on the film, and prior to that he worked on Peter Jackson's Beatles documentary Get Back, supervising the careful restoration of audio from the original album recording.

Martin gives Maggie Tweedie a glimpse of what goes on behind the sound in blockbuster films, and as a DJ and record collector, he picks some fine tunes for the Mixtape this week.  

Martin Kwok wins an Emmy as supervising sound editor for Beatles 'Get Back'

Martin Kwok wins an Emmy as supervising sound editor for Beatles 'Get Back' Photo: