Nine To Noon for Tuesday 2 April 2024

09:05 NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler on a campaign against shoddy practice

New South Wales' building watchdog - charged with cracking down on shoddy builds and improving productivity - says an Auckland apartment complex is the "most shocking example of a failed residential apartment building" he's ever seen. David Chandler was appointed the state's Building Commissioner in 2019, but given extra powers late last year, including the ability to force builders to fix defects before finishing a new home, with a vastly boosted budget to upscale building inspections. The Building Commission was established in New South Wales after two high-rise apartment towers in Sydney were both evacuated within six months between 2019 and 2020 - leaving hundreds of people homeless and only now with the State Government stepping in are some able to get out of the situation with some money. David Chandler was in Auckland recently speaking at an Institute of Building conference - and he also visited the Ridge Apartments - which is at the centre of documentary series A Living Hell: Apartment Disasters, covered by Nine to Noon in February. He speaks with Susie Ferguson, along with John Gray from the Home Owners and Buyers Association or HOBANZ.

09:20 'App tax' confuses accommodation providers

Small accommodation providers are set to be booted off at least one big booking platform if they don't meet new tax requirements that kicked in yesterday. The rules around the so-called "app tax" were designed to make online booking platforms account for GST. Bigger accommodation providers that make over $500,000 or list more than 2000 bed nights are unaffected - they can opt out and handle their GST as usual. Smaller providers who don't meet the $60,000 threshold for compulsory GST registration are in a different boat. It's left booking site Expedia pushing them to list their properties on its Vrbo/Bookabach platform, and if they don't meet the new criteria or migrate there, face delisting. Susie speaks to Ann-Marie Johnson, president of the Bed and Breakfast Association who says many of her members have been left scratching their heads about how they'll be affected by this move. And to explain the changes, Daniel Gibbons, tax partner for Findex.

09:35  A tool to calculate how a warmer world impacts on health

With temperatures soaring in parts of Australia this past summer a device is being trialed to help calculate the health risk intense heat poses to the human body. So far this year the mercury has at times exceeded 40 degrees celsius in the Pilbarra region of Western Australia and in parts of the Northern Territory. And on 25th of January 49.4 degrees was recorded at Birdsville in Queensland. Professor Ollie Jay is the director of the University of Sydney's Heat and Health Research Incubator and he says people's health is at risk from heatwaves which are intensifying globally. His team is trialing a HeatWatch webtool.

09:45 USA correspondent Ron Elving

Engineers have started removing mangled wreckage after the partial collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore that killed six people. Key questions remain over the rebuild, and the costs and disruptions that come with it. And former President Donald Trump is preparing for his hush money trial in New York later this month. His latest moneymaking scheme - selling a Trump-endorsed, 'God Bless the USA' Bible - is raising eyebrows.

Ron Elving is Senior Editor and Correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News.

10:05 Kiwi actress Sara Wiseman gets a dose of theatre in The Effect

Screen legend Sara Wiseman is well-known for her roles in TV series like Mercy Peak, Shortland Street, A Place to Call Home and Under the Vines. The Auckland-born actress has just finished filming Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - the fourth instalment in the franchise. Her latest TV work has just hit screens in Australia - High Country  - a crime series set in regional Victoria. She's home and back to her theatre roots as it were, to take a lead role in The Effect, a play from Succession writer Lucy Prebble. It's about what happens when two antidepressant drug trial volunteers fall for each other - an exploration of love and medical ethics amid the murky world of the pharmaceutical industry. Sara joins Susie to talk about her career and The Effect, which runs from the 16th of April to the 11th of May at the ASB Waterfront Theatre.

10:35 Book review: Portrait of a War Artist by John Gillies

Harry Broad reviews Portrait of a War Artist by John Gillies published by Quentin Wilson Publishing

10:45 Around the motu: Alisha Evans in Tauranga

Tauranga homeowners affected by landslides have been waiting 14 months for a solution. They now have one, with the council agreeing to buy out the worst affected homes. Parking in Mount Maunganui will continue to be free but people overstaying in parks will face a fine. Also, the council has backed down on fees for using sports fields that were seen a “cash grab” by sports clubs.

Tauranga based local democracy reporter Alisha Evans. 

11:05 Rebecca Stevenson: The business of luxury shopping

Rebecca looks at the business of luxury brands, as a group of Californians file a lawsuit against Hermès. They claim the label is unlawfully only selling its famed Birkin handbags to people with a sufficient purchase history. And sales of luxury cars hit a new record in 2023 - however not all brands are seeing the increased demand.

Rebecca Stevenson is a senior journalist at BusinessDesk

11:30 Dragon celebrates 50th anniversary with national tour

Veteran rock band Dragon is about to tour the country 50 years after they first formed. The band founded by Taumarunui brothers Todd and the late Marc Hunter produced some of the best loved Kiwi anthems - including Rain, and April Sun in Cuba. They played their first gig in1973 at The Great Ngāruawāhia Music Festival alongside Black Sabbath, Fairpoint Convention and Split Enz. Band members Mark Williams and Todd Hunter speak to Susie Ferguson about their lives in music and on the road.

11:45 Sports correspondent Glen Larmer

The Hurricanes have had a big win over the Highlanders in Dunedin, however the team has lost a key player - halfback Cam Roigard - to injury. Meanwhile calls are growing for a policy change which would allow players outside of New Zealand to be considered for All Blacks selection. In league, the Warriors go back-to-back with another win at home, and the Wellington Phoenix also continue their winning ways at the top of the A-League.