Nine To Noon for Monday 18 March 2024

09:05 Electrification of houses saves money, even on finance 

A house that moves to being fully electric - with solar panels and an electric vehicle, even with the cost of finance can save thousands of dollars a year compared to the fossil fuel equivalent. Rewiring Aotearoa - a non-profit organisation making the case for electrification of homes, businesses and communities - has today put out its Electric Homes report. It says New Zealand is likely one of the first countries in the world to have reached a point where electrification delivers both cost and emissions savings. That's because of New Zealand's highly renewable grid - just over 90 percent of all electricity generation came from renewables like wind, solar and hydro in the final quarter of 2023. That means emissions drop when we use electricity instead of fossil fuels. Mike Casey is the chief executive of Rewiring Aotearoa. He's also known for his fully electric cherry orchard in Central Otago. 

09:25    Tauranga's proven strategy for reducing CBD crime

After concerns were raised about shoplifting to order and other anti social behaviour in town, the Council got to work on an initiative to make the inner city a safer space. The crime crackdown strategy has involved the appointment of a safety and engagement advisor to build relationships with retailers and hear their concerns. Some small businesses had been losing thousands of dollars worth of stock to organised gangs of shoplifters. Tauranga City Council Development and Partnerships General Manager Gareth Wallis says it's been a huge success, and that's backed up by Garth Mitchinson who owns the Life Pharmacy in the centre of town.

09:45 Russia correspondent Jim Heintz

Exit polls show Vladimir Putin winning a huge majority of votes in the Russian presidential election. It will be his fifth term as the leader of the country, and the biggest share of the vote he has ever claimed.

Jim Heintz is a Russia correspondent for Associated Press. He spent 24 years in Moscow before relocating to Estonia in 2023.

10:05 Nellie's Baby: one woman's search for her birth parents

RNZ journalist Kirsty Johnston received an email one day with an usual subject line which was: "Investigating the possible murder of my mother". The email was from a woman named Sarah, who'd been adopted as a baby in the 1980s. Sarah wanted to find the truth about her birth mother Nellie, who was a former psychiatric patient at Porirua Mental Hospital, but who'd died in 2008, before Sarah had a chance to meet her. Sarah was suspicious that Nellie may have been deliberately killed, and that her own birth may have been the result of a sexual assault by a staff member at the hospital.  Sarah and Kirsty have spent the past year combing through official records, doing DNA tests and tracking down long lost family members - hoping to get to the bottom of her mother's story. The result is the podcast Nellie's Baby, just released.

10:35 Book review: The Beautiful Afternoon by Airini Beautrais 

Hannah August reviews The Beautiful Afternoon by Airini Beautrais published by Te Herenga Waka University Press

10:45 Around the motu: Diane McCarthy in Whakatāne

The Whakatāne District Council is coming under fire from some quarters for high levels of spending on big projects, with consultation underway on an average 17 percent rates rise. Diane also talks about the council making changes to the district plan to make building tiny homes easier. And the Bay of Plenty Harbourmaster's decision recently to stop the safety advisory service on the Whakatāne River bar has resulted in a public outcry from some members of the boating community.

Eastern Bay of Plenty local democracy reporter, Diane McCarthy is based at the Whakatāne Beacon.

11:05 Political commentators Sue Moroney and Ben Thomas

Sue and Ben discuss Winston Peters' comments comparing co-governance to Nazi Germany's race-based theory, debate over the fiscal outlook, and the Green Party's ongoing woes.

Sue Moroney is a former MP with the Labour Party and now chief executive of Community Law Centres Aotearoa.

Ben Thomas is a former National government press secretary, a columnist and a director of public affairs firm Capital.

11:30 Executive Chef Dan Shanks on sourcing local to feed thousands at Sail GP

More than 22,000 people are expected to descend on Lyttelton on March 23/24 for the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix. It's the ninth event on this season's 13-event calendar - which is heralded as the biggest ticketed sailing event in the world. But what happens behind the scenes for an event like this? Dan Shanks has an excellent idea - he's executive chef of Venues Otautahi and the person in charge of feeding everyone. And an exceptionally high bar has been set for this Sail GP event: nearly everything on the menu has been sourced locally. Dan joins Kathryn to talk about what it takes to showcase Canterbury's food on the global stage.

11:45 Off the beaten track with Kennedy Warne

Kennedy Warne discusses why Waipu, where he spent St Patrick's Day, is possibly New Zealand's most Scottish town. While he's on the Northland coast, Kennedy also looks at Significant Natural Areas, and why identifying them is crucial to avoid further loss of native diversity.