Nine To Noon

09:05 Journalist Barbara Dreaver's new memoir on three decades reporting from the Pacific

The seventh narco sub in Pacific waters has been discovered this week as the wave of methamphetamine becomes the latest crisis challenging the region. 1News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver has spent decades reporting on the region from this country, including the drug battle and subsequent HIV epidemic in some countries. Dreaver has released her memoir - Be Brave - on covering the Pacific through natural disasters, military coups and criminal activity. She was detained and deported from Fiji before being blacklisted and not allowed to return for many years during former Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama's reign. Bainimarama was recently charged with inciting mutiny over allegations they encouraged senior Fiji Military Forces officers to act against the military commander in 2023. She's a well known face within in Aotearoa, and in much of the Pacific where 1News is screened. 

09:20 Risk of supermarkets' use of algorithms

A competition researcher says supermarket real time pricing, could potentially lead to collusion. And a competition bill currently being considered by our Parliament, is not ready for the AI age. The Government is updating competition law, including increasing the Commerce Commission's powers in combating predatory pricing , clarifying merger processes, and modernising the rules around new technologies, including AI. But University of Sydney researcher, Lisa Asher,  says while there are some positive steps in the bill, it is not explicit enough in stating that retailers must be held accountable for price changes made by AI monitoring. Lisa Asher had two decades working in food and grocery sector, before becoming an academic focused on competition. 

09:35 Will Auckland's tallest residential tower ever be finished now its owner's gone under?

The Seascape Tower is hard to miss on Auckland's skyline, but any date for its completion is even more uncertain with news this week its owner and developer Shundi Customs has gone into receivership. Construction of the 56-level, 187 metre Tower on Customs Street East stopped in August 2024 after a dispute over payment between between the builder, China Construction and Shundi Customs. Little work's been done since. Receivers Brendon Gibson and Neale Jackson of Calibre Partners said the immediate priority was to ensure Seascape continues to remain safe and secure. But what happens to the building? Could it be sold, left unfinished or even... demolished? The New Zealand Herald's property editor Anne Gibson has been across developments in this story since work on Seascape started. 

09:45 RNZ Pacific editor Koroi Hawkins

Vanuatu authorities confirm minor eruption at Ambae volcano and what the latest Middle East strikes mean for the Pacific. 

10:05 Communism's improbable rise in China 

From a dusty boardroom with 13 delegates in 1921, the Chinese Communist Party's rise to rule over the country by 1949 was highly improbable. But, as Stanford University historian and author Frank Dikötter explains the party benefited from wars, invasions and outside help to claim power. And it was unapologetic in its use of violence and repression on its path there, Frank says. The author has trawled through thousands of files from the archives of the Party to tell this story, following his earlier The People's Trilogy, using the same archives to document the lives of ordinary people living under Mao. Frank is senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. 

10:30 Wahi set to become New Zealand's most accessible beach 

Enjoying our coastline and beaches is something many of us may take for granted. However for those with mobility challenges, it can mean admiring from a distance. From tomorrow, that will be a different story for  Waihi Beach in Bay of Plenty. Thanks to a huge community effort, it's about to become  Aotearoa's most accessible beach. A new purpose-built high-needs accessible changing facility will be officially opened tomorrow. It follows other changes at the beach including the provision of beach mats and wheelchairs. The facility will be officially opened by Dame Catriona Williams, alongside elected members and community representatives.

10:35 Book review: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman 

Marcus Greville of Unity Books Wellington reviews Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, published by Penguin Random House.

10:45 Around the motu: Lee Scanlon, Westport News Chief Reporter

Lee chews through the financial issues facing the Buller District Council including Local Water Done Well and criticism from auditors over delayed annual  reports. She also reports on the uncertain air link with Wellington and the first big game fishing contest in the South Island.

11:05 New music with Grant Smithies 

 Gorillaz' new 15-track double album is a surprisingly celebratory affair, given that it was inspired in part by the recent deaths of the fathers of bandmembers, Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn. We’ll hear two key tracks from that today, followed by an early classic from the late salsa pioneer Willie Colón and new music from London Afrobeat collective Nubiyan Twist.

11:25 Friday funnies: Te Radar and Elizabeth Easther 

McDonald's chief executive's awkward taste test of new burger, Southland and Palmerston North the big spenders on love, and the British police officer fired for using work from home trick. 

11:45 Sports commentator Sam Ackerman

Warriors NRL season starts this weekend, Blues vs Crusaders the biggest clash in the Super Rugby round, Champions Day, and looking ahead to the Black Caps T20 World Cup final against India on Monday morning.