Nine To Noon for Monday 24 March 2025

09:05 Energy executive says consumers should underwrite projects

An Australia-based energy expert says the government here should be underwriting major power generation projects to help drive investment in the sector and mitigate energy shortages. Electricity demand is expected to double by 2050. Yet the country has only built about one fifth of what it is likely need even by the end of this decade. Grid operator Transpower says new production coming online in the next two years - will get us closer to what is needed by 2030 though it is mainly through intermittent sources like wind and solar. Critics say those intermittent options carry too much risk. A recent briefing to new Energy Minister Simon Watts highlighted the need for more 'firm, flexible generation to improve security and lower prices'. All this, as the country faces the prospect of a second dry year in the hydro lakes, and the risk of another crippling spike in power prices this winter. One intervention being suggested to stimulate investment is for consumers - in the shape of a Government underwrite for electricity generation projects - for back up supply. James Hay was the founding chief executive of New South Wales EnergyCo, which co-ordinated generation, storage and transmission investment in the Australian state. 

09:20 Lawyers seek solutions for rising Asian claimants heading to court

Lawyers are grappling with what to do about an increasing number of Asian parties in court, who won't settle, and insist on going to court. The Law Society's Asian Lawyers group, alongside the Ministry of Justice and the New Zealand Bar Association are meeting in a few weeks' time as a starting point to work out if there is a way to improve the situation for clients, and the clogged court system. Anecdotally, lawyers say cultural and language differences may be playing a part, but there is a need to start collecting robust data in order to better understand what is going on. Mai Chen is the president of New Zealand Asian Lawyers. 

09:30  Edible bale netting providing an option to drop some on farm plastic  

A vet finding plastic netting in the stomach of a cow was the spur for Southland farmer, Grant Lightfoot, to try to find a better sort of wrapping hay bales. He turned to flax fibre and he and his partner spent time knitting up 50 metres by hand to try out on one of his baling machines. It was a success and after some further development, friends urged him to take it to last year's Field Days at  Waimumu near Gore, where it won the the environmental award. He donated his winnings to the Westpac Trust Rescue Helicopter and since then, he says, the phone has run hot with inquiries from around the world and he has travelled to India to get production of Kiwi Econet underway. Grant Lightfoot joins us from his deer farm at Orepuki, west of Invercargill.     

09:45 Europe correspondent Seamus Kearney

EU nations want to snap up US researchers sidelined by Trump, Poland and Baltic states to pull out of global landmine treaty, and Finland named happiest country for 8th year in a row. 

Seamus Kearney has news from Europe. 

10:05 The struggles and joy of life in the Pakihi Valley in the 1970s    

The plan was to turn an isolated rundown farm into a profitable business and sell it on. However a downturn in wool prices in the late 60s meant a much longer commitment for teenager Marnie Anstis's family. But for the 16 year old, life in the Pakihi Valley, inland from Ōpōtiki, was bliss. More than 50 years later, Anstis has written a book "A Bird in the Bush" about her time living in this remote pocket of land.

10:35 Book review: Makeshift Seasons by Kate Camp 

Airini Beautrais reviews Makeshift Seasons by Kate Camp published by Te Herenga Waka University Press

10:45 Around the motu: Chris Hyde in Hawkes Bay

A group of teenage drivers have been terrorizing rural road users, dwindling numbers have forced the final members of Waipawa St Peter’s Anglican Church Sunday congregation to seek a new place of worship, and the National Aquarium is leaking more than $2 million of Napier ratepayer money every year.

Chris Hyde is editor for Hawkes Bay Today.

11:05 Political commentators Dalziel & Hehir

Lianne Dalziel is a life member of the Labour Party and a former MP and Cabinet Minister. She ran as an independent for Christchurch's mayoralty in 2013 and was the city's mayor for three terms. She writes a regular column for Newsroom.co.nz

Liam Hehir is a Palmerston North lawyer, political commentator and a National Party member

11:30 Food with pep: How Pepler's crafts small-batch, flavour-packed condiments 

Pepler's makes a range of dressings, chutneys and sauces from its base in Te Kauwhata in northern Waikato. The business was set up in the early 80s by the Pepler family and taken over in 2021 by Paul and Jane Menneer, who were themselves the founders of Cambridge Picklery. It's safe to say they're having a great year - Pepler's Black Raspberry Vinaigrette earned a three-star rating and a Superior Taste Award from the International Taste Institute. Pepler's also won three gold medals and two silvers last week at the 2025 Outstanding Food Producer Awards. Paul and Jane Menneer join Kathryn to talk about how they come up with their inventive flavours.

11:45 Off the beaten track with Kennedy Warne

Kennedy discusses a new home-grown climate-change musical that debuts in Auckland this coming Friday. It's the brainchild of Steve Worsley, a songwriter, composer and part-time Baptist minister. He also looks at a 'weird and wonderful' observation by marine biologist Rochelle Constantine and a fellow researcher, who, while conducting field work in the Hauraki Gulf, spotted an octopus riding on the back of a mako shark.