Nine To Noon for Monday 8 April 2024

09:05 New report shows major drop in media trust

Just a third of New Zealanders now say they trust the news. That's the major finding of AUT's research centre for Journalism, Media and Democracy's fifth annual Trust in News in Aotearoa New Zealand report. Trust in news in general fell from 42 percent last year to 33 percent in this year's report - but it's a whopping 20 percent down from the first report in 2020 when it was at 53 percent. All 16 news brands that were part of this survey suffered declines in trust. The ODT had the highest trust score, with RNZ and the NBR tied in second place and TVNZ, Newsroom, BusinessDesk and 'other commercial radio' tied for third. Other findings from this year's survey: Fewer people believed the news media was independent of political influence and more said they actively avoid the news to some degree. The survey was conducted in February just before the shock announcement that Newshub was set to close, and that TVNZ would be cutting jobs and news programmes. Final decisions are expected from both organisations this week. Kathryn is joined by Dr Merja Myllylahti and Dr Greg Treadwell, co-authors of the report.

09:20 Green light for Pure Tūroa questions remain over Whakapapa's future

18 months after Ruapehu Alpine Lifts went into voluntary administration - a group of Ohakune locals is set to take Tūroa ski field into private ownership. Pure Tūroa has been granted a 10 year concession by the Department of Conservation to operate the ski field. It follows the Government's warning last month that a $7 million bailout for RAL would be its last. Many questions remain over the future of Whakapapa ski area on the other side of the mountain. Kathryn speaks with Jess Till,  spokesperson for Pure Tūroa .

09:30 Masterton's Bob Francis: Senior NZer of the Year

Former Masterton Mayor Bob Francis was named Senior of the Year last month.  He was seven-term Mayor of Masterton from 1986 to 2007. Bob Francis' work has touched almost all sectors of society, including sport, heath, conservation, the arts and aviation - and he's still going strong.

09:45 Europe correspondent Seamus Kearney

Slovakia has elected a pro-Russian populist as its new president, cementing the country’s switch towards policies more friendly towards Moscow. A big police operation linked to allegations of fraud involving post-Covid funding has seen raids in numerous EU countries. And shock in Finland as one person is killed in a school shooting committed by a 12 year old.

10:05 Girl Friday: Kristine Philipp's memoir's honest look at women's work

Kristine Philipp was a month into Year 10 when her mother told her she needed to get a job to pay her way. So at 15 - she signed on with a car company in Melbourne. They'd described her job as a 'Girl Friday' - so it came as rather a shock when she learned she had to work more than one day a week. Kristine's drawn inspiration from that first experience for the title of her new book - Girl Friday: An Extraordinarily Ordinary Working Life. It's an honest and moving memoir of Kristine's four decades of office work. But it's also an exploration of the nature of what's considered "women's work", on-going pay inequality and the alienating nature of the 21st century workforce. 

10:35 Book review: Dear Colin, Dear Ron: the selected letters of Colin McCahon and Ron O'Reilly by Peter Simpson 

Lynn Freeman reviews Dear Colin, Dear Ron: the selected letters of Colin McCahon and Ron O'Reilly by Peter Simpson published by Te Papa Press

10:45 Around the motu: Georgina Campbell in Wellington 

NZ Herald Wellington issues reporter Georgina Campbell joins Kathryn Ryan to discuss the future of the inter-isand ferry service, GPs being told not to refer patients to gynaecology clinics and the long-promised Watts reserve.

11:05 Political commentators Gareth Hughes and Tim Hurdle

The axe continues to fall over public service jobs as the Budget looms - can the cuts deliver the savings sought? Meanwhile Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announces his top priorities for the coming months.

Gareth Hughes is a former Green MP and now works for the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa. 

Tim Hurdle is a former National senior adviser, was the National Party Campaign Director in 2020. He is a director of several companies, including Museum Street Strategies, a public affairs firm.

11:30 Nicole Maguire on perfecting the simple dinner

If the idea of cooking dinner at the end of a long day fills you with dread, Nicole Maguire is able to help. She's been pulling together simple meal ideas on her website for years but that's now been made into a cookbook. It aims to keep the meals easy, healthy and low-cost. The key, she says, is to keep meal planning easy too. The book is The Simple Dinner Edit and she joins Kathryn to share some of her tips.

11:45 Urban Issue with Bill McKay

Today, Bill argues that it is cheaper and more sustainable to reuse old buildings rather than demolish them. He looks at how the University of Auckland has just done that - and ended up with the country’s highest-rated building in terms of sustainability.

Bill McKay is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland.