Nine To Noon for Thursday 30 October 2025

09:05 National flood data shows flood risk and where to prioritise climate adaptation

New national flood data maps the properties and infrastructure  at risk from flooding now - and as the climate changes. The Earth Sciences tool, which also puts a dollar value on the property at risk, is part of raft of new reporting that will increasingly affect where we can and can't build - as well as insurance. The data says 15 percent of New Zealand - some 750,000 people - are already at risk from major rainfall or river flooding events  with this number rising to 900,000 people at  3°C of atmospheric warming. The data also includes the number and value of buildings exposed, crucial infrastructure like roads and pipes, that are at risk. $235bn of buildings are exposed currently, rising to $288bn with an additional 3°C of warming. Kathryn discusses with Dr Emily Lane, Earth Sciences Principal Scientist - Natural Hazards and Hydrodynamics who led the five-year project and RNZ's climate correspondent Kate Newton.

09:20 Solar companies want Govt supply contracts 

Solar companies say they are lining up to put panels on public buildings and land around the country, and that this could save the state millions. The Government is calling for ways it can use its purchasing power to attract new energy projects, as part of reforms announced at the start of the month. It has an open tender for ideas on ways it can leverage energy demand from its land and buildings. That, as well as another tender for a provider of 10 per cent of Health New Zealand's significant power requirements. The Solar Energy Association, which represents 80 per cent of the solar companies in the country, says it is eyeing the Government's energy demands and is putting together an application on behalf of the sector. SEANZ's members already supply solar to some 500 schools, and there are about 2000 others that could benefit from solar, chief executive Brendan Winitana says.

09:30 Saving the 'dying' Raukūmara Conservation Park    

Raukūmara Conservation Park was said to be dying - over run with deer, possums and goats - when iwi raised the urgent need for action more than 10 years ago. Years later, that led to the formation of the iwi-led conservation partnership project, Raukūmara Pae Maunga, which aims to restore the biodiversity of the forest  in the East Cape's  Raukūmara range. Initially funded by Jobs for Nature, the project has now received from government $6 million dollars over the next three years, but will need to raise further funds as it costs that amount each year. Raukūmara Pae Maunga Governor, Ora Barlow, has described the conservation project  as one of Aotearoa's most ambitious ecological restoration programmes, that at the same time creates jobs. 

09:45 UK: Hadush Kebatu, asylum barracks, tax rises

UK correspondent Matt Dathan joins Kathryn to talk about the ongoing saga surrounding Ethiopian migrant Hadush Kebatu, who was convicted of two sexual assaults after his arrival in the UK, mistakenly released from jail, found after a manhunt and - it's emerged - paid £500 to drop a last minute asylum claim. Meanwhile the government's plan to get 32,000 migrants out of hotels and house them in military barracks is causing controversy. And as the Budget nudges nearer, the Prime Minister has declined to stand by his commitment not to raise taxes.

Matt Dathan is Home Affairs Editor at The Times

10:05 The arborist refusing to cut down trees

US master arborist Basil Camu has made a daring business move - refusing to cut down trees. Instead he's turned his focus on educating people in a bid to keep their trees. He says people can save money, time and help develop ecosystems by not cutting down their trees. As well as running a tree company with his father, Basil leads Project Pando -  a nonprofit that collects native seeds in the US and propagates them, and freely shares the seedlings. And he has a new book From Wasteland to Wonder, a book that touts healthy tree planting as a means to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. 

10:35 Book review: Hardship and Hope by Rebecca Macfie

Cynthia Morahan reviews Hardship and Hope by Rebecca Macfie, published by Bridget Williams Books.

10:45 Around the motu: Kelly Makiha from the Rotorua Daily Post

Kelly reports on the fire that destroyed  an historic rugby club, a reward is offered for a missing local teacher, manslaughter charges four years after the disappearance of a local man and a local golfing legend.

11:05 Tech: Is increasing use of AI damaging students' learning ability?

Tech correspondent Alex Sims focuses on the increasing use of artificial intelligence in classrooms and lecture halls - is it helping or harming? She looks at an MIT study into what's happening in students' brains when they use AI and another Oxford University report that drew on young people's own reported experiences of learning shaped by AI.

Alex Sims is a Professor in the Department of Commercial Law at the University of Auckland Business School and an expert on blockchain technology, copyright law and consumer law

11:25 Parenting: How to keep your kids safe this Halloween

Love it or loathe it - it's that time of year when kids roam loose around neighbourhoods looking for fun and sweets.  Halloween's grown in popularity in New Zealand, and many parents might be wondering about how to handle trick or treating. How young is too young to let kids venture out on their own? What if your kid wants to celebrate Halloween, but it doesn't fit with your beliefs? How much is too much candy before bed? Joining Kathryn is Sheridan Eketone, she's a parent coach and presenter at Parenting Place and mum of four... and well versed in Halloween etiquette. Text your questions to 2101 or email ninetonoon@rnz.co.nz.

11:45 Screentime: Boots, Frankenstein, The Hack

Film and TV reviewer Tamar Munch joins Kathryn to talk about Boots (Netflix), a military comedy drama series based on a memoir The Pink Marine by Greg Cope White that's been criticised by the Pentagon following its release. Frankenstein is in cinemas, based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel and staring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi. And The Hack (TVNZ+ from early Nov) stars David Tennant and is a true crime series based around the News International hacking scandal.