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National
Bonnie Harrison

The Week in Detail: Pakistan, prime ministers and pepeha

Liz Truss' proposals are both frightening and nonsensical, argues Dr David Jenkins. Photo: Getty Images

Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. 

This week, we looked at the devastating effects of climate change in flood-wrecked Pakistan, the controversy surrounding government health and safety watchdog WorkSafe, the dangerous legal territory that true crime podcasts can find themselves in, new British Prime Minister Liz Truss and what she really stands for, and asked what makes up a pepeha, and why?

Whakarongo mai to any episodes you might have missed. 

Pakistan flooding: Bearing the brunt of the climate crisis

Nearly 1500 people have died in the worst floods Pakistan has seen in decades. The associated costs from damage will reach into the tens of billions of dollars.

Nearly half a million homes have been destroyed by the flooding in Pakistan. Photo: Getty Images

And it's likely that these sorts of events will be more common as human-caused climate change continues to intensify natural disasters. 

This raises the stark inequity of which countries will be on the frontlines of climate change: Pakistan, despite its huge population, emits less than one percent of the world's planet-warming gasses.

Emile Donovan speaks to Reuters' Pakistan correspondent Charlotte Greenfield and Pakistan-born New Zealander Tayyaba Khan.

The dangers of working in New Zealand

In the aftermath of the Pike River mine explosion that killed 29 men in 2010, serious failings in New Zealand's health and safety record were revealed.

Photo: RNZ/Angus Dreaver

WorkSafe, an agency dedicated to safety was created in 2013 but nine years on our record is still shameful, with two deaths a month on average and a serious injury every day.

"We are overrepresented in terms of health and safety statistics throughout the world. It's depressing," says Chapman Trip partner Garth Gallaway, who has worked in health and safety law since 1994.

Gallaway and RNZ investigative journalist Anusha Bradley talk to Sharon Brettkelly about the role of WorkSafe, the criticism of the way it operates, the worrying drop in the number of investigations and calls for more money.

True crime podcasts - a legal minefield

Gory true crime series are the bread-and-butter of the podcast world - whole production houses have been built on our fascination with the morbid, macabre things humans are capable of doing to one another. 

The Teacher's Pet podcast. Photo: The Australian

But a recent true crime podcast out of Australia has actually gone on to have substantial real-world effects, with an arrest and then a murder conviction for a forty year-old cold case seemingly spurred on by the podcast's investigation.

But there are serious potential legal liabilities to publishing a podcast of this nature, and a huge amount of work that goes on in the background from journalists and media organisations to make sure they're protected from risks like defamation claims and breaches of sensitive court orders.

Emile Donovan speaks to media lawyer Ali Romanos and RNZ's head of podcasts Tim Watkin.

Who is British PM Liz Truss?

Newly-elected Liz Truss has got no further than announcing a two-year freeze on people's energy bills that will cost £150 billion, before having to shift her focus to leading a country grieving over the death of its monarch.

But the problems are not going away. Besides inheriting a political and constitutional crisis, she's got an inflation crisis, a war going on in eastern Europe, and a wave of industrial action by disgruntled workers from several sectors. 

What can we expect from Truss, a self-styled Thatcherite and former monarchy abolitionist?

Sharon Brettkelly speaks to Today FM drivetime host and former Newshub Europe correspondent Lloyd Burr and political theory expert David Jenkins.

The anatomy of a pepeha

Have you ever said a pepeha?

Photo: Designworks

Speaking from experience as a Pākehā man who hasn't really engaged much with te ao Māori in my life, it can be a bit nerve-wracking. 

You want to engage, it's exciting and you're learning things - but you don't want to say the wrong thing. You don't want to be disrespectful. You don't want to embarrass yourself. 

Emile Donovan speaks to te reo Māori advocate and teacher Stacey Morrison about this unique expression of identity through tikanga Māori.

Find out how to listen and subscribe to The Detail here.  

You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter

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