Nine To Noon for Friday 6 October 2023

 

09:05 Privacy Commission: facial recognition technology not justified

The Privacy Commission says it is not yet convinced that facial recognition technology is a "justified and proportionate response" to combat retail crime. Retail NZ is calling for a coordinated and "sector-wide" rollout of the technology in a bid to cut down on repeat offences. Its latest survey found almost all respondents have experienced crime at their businesses in the past year, costing an estimated $2.6b. Supermarket giant Foodstuffs is set to begin a trial of the technology next month. Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster says such technology would see all customers scanned and compared to a watchlist, in order to identify a small number of people engaging in criminal or harmful behaviour. He speaks to Kathryn.

09:20 Independent bookstores hail new sales hub

In what's being hailed as a first for the English speaking world - the country's independent bookstores will now have a collective website for sales. BookHub launches tomorrow, and it'll allow readers to buy from the 70 or so independent booksellers around the country. Booksellers Aotearoa says it'll be a major disrupter to online bookselling - pushing back against the giant global retailers. Joining Kathryn is Tony Moores, Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand's project manager for BookHub and Renee Rowland from The Twizel Bookshop.

09:45 Pacific correspondent Koroi Hawkins

RNZ Pacific Editor Koroi Hawkins discusses politics in Vanuatu, the intriguing story of a pair of Chinese scam artists wanted to turn a radiation-soaked Pacific atoll into a future metropolis; France ends a 10-year snub of the UN's Special Committee on Decolonization and how are Pacific teams doing at the Rugby World Cup?

10:05 Sir Wayne Smith on new memoir about his rugby career

It took the better part of a decade for publishers to convince Sir Wayne Smith to share his long rugby career in a memoir. There's plenty to talk about across his career. Sir Wayne has been involved in 174 All Blacks tests as a player, selector and coach. Of those 143 were wins. He has become the only coach to win three Rugby World Cups - as assistant coach in 2011 and 2015 with the All Blacks, and in 2022 as head coach with the Black Ferns. Earlier this year the now-rugby mentor was invited to become a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to rugby. Finally, over two months spent at his Waihi Beach bach, Sir Wayne has detailed his life to writer Phil Gifford. Smithy: Endless Winters & The Spring of '22 has just been released.

10:40 No-fly climate scientist faces sack over long trip home

 A climate scientist whose pledge not to travel by plane - leaving him with a long trip back to Germany from where he's been working - has put him at odds with his employer.Dr Gianluca Grimalda is a senior researcher at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) and has spent most of the year in Papua New Guinea  studying the relationship between globalisation, climate change and social cohesion. He started his journey to PNG in February overland and by sea and had intended to go back the same way - a 22-thousand kilometre trip that he calculated would create four tonnes of greenhouse gases by plane, but just 400 kilograms by rail, bus and ship. While he was due back in the office last month, his research was delayed  - at one point he and his assistants were hostage under machete threat. He's also had his belongings taken and held for ransom. But his employer now says he's due in the office Monday - and if he's not there - his job won't be either. Dr Grimalda joins Kathryn from Papua New Guinea. 

10:50 Around the motu : Tess Brunton in Queenstown

Tess Brunton is in Queenstown where a potential bomb threat evacuated the airport earlier this morning. The airport said it activated its emergency security protocols shortly after 8.30am and emergency services were called. Also, the latest on the cryptosporidum outbreak plaguing the resort town. 

11:05 Book review: The Book Collector: Reading and Living with Literature by Tony Eyre 

Dean Bedford reviews The Book Collector: Reading and Living with Literature by Tony Eyre published by Mary Egan Publishing.

11:10 Music reviewer Grant Smithies​

In the early 90s, a number of bands exploring the daring side of guitar rock and pop started to emerge in the UK influenced by the legacy of post-punk, minimalism, 70s art rock and a growing electronic scene. A new double LP called In The Light Of Time rounds up the best of the bunch, and we’ll hear two tracks from that today, followed by a dusty Afro-funk classic from Ghana’s “King of Highlife” C.K. Mann, and some space funk from the Bobby Deemo Band.

11:30 Sports commentator Sam Ackerman

It's been a remarkable start to the Cricket World Cup for the Black Caps. Sam Ackerman explains why cricket's fifty over format could be under threat, as well as the All Blacks ending World Cup pool play, the loss of a sporting great, and some sporting stories that have to be heard to be believed.

11:45 The week that was with te Radar and Donna Brookbanks

Te Radar and Donna Brookbanks on the lighter stories of the week, including Aotearoa's best - and worst - salt and vinegar chips, according to Consumer NZ rankings, a 104-year-old skydiver, and Nasa's plans to build a house on the moon - Air BnB style.