Nine To Noon for Tuesday 15 April 2025

09:05 Frustration at Hamilton's wastewater limits 

Developers in Hamilton say they have lost confidence in the council to deliver the infrastructure needed for more housing in the country's fastest growing city. The Hamilton City Council told developers in 2023 it would not be able to approve resource consents for developments in some areas because its wastewater system could not keep up with the demand. At a council meeting last week a report into that decision and its implications was tabled, and several developers presented to council. Since the 2023 decision, the council has received more than 1600 queries for building developments on brownfield sites. Of those, nearly half - 754 - were told there would be wastewater constraints and none of those has progressed to being developed. Developers told the council they had lost confidence it could provide and maintain key infrastructure like wastewater services - to enable their developments. John Kenel is a developer in Hamilton and says the 2023 announcement came with no warning, leaving him with vacant land in desirable parts of the city. Andrew Parsons is Hamilton City Council's general manager of infrastructure and assets.

09:20 Bremworth's new chair: we are at a crucial crossroads

The carpet maker Bremworth has been in business six decades, and is at a crucial crossroads, according to its new chairman. Last week, the Chief Executive Greg Smith stepped down after four years,  just weeks after a boardroom coup. A group of unhappy shareholders, led by Rob Hewett, engineered the departure of three sitting directors who were replaced by members of the dissidents. Mr Hewett is the new chairman - a south Otago farmer and outgoing chair of Silver Fern Farms. He's also chair of Farmlands Co-operative and Woolworks, a former Councillor of Lincoln University and past Chair of Wool Impact.  Five years ago Bremworth ditched synthetic alternatives for strong wool carpets. Rob Hewett says Bremworth is now in a new era - where it needs a fresh approach to drive growth and earnings.

09:45 USA correspondent Ron Elving

El Salvador's president Nayib Bukele visits the White House and refuses to release a man the US mistakenly deported to one of the Central American country's notorious mega prisons. Ron also discusses where markets are at after an exemption on tech products over the weekend. 

Ron Elving is a Senior Editor and Correspondent, Washington Desk for NPR news.

10:05 Modern homesteading in Central Otago

Gillian Swinton was born and bred in Edinburgh - and her maternal ancestors are from a tiny island in the Outer Hebrides in Northern Scotland. She here in 2010 with only a backpack, but Gillian Swinton has now made home in Central Otago on a 2.7 hectare plot of land with her partner Hamish - where they are living as much as they can off the land. With a few sheep, bees , lots of chooks and lots of hard work - they call themselves modern homesteaders. And with nearly 80,000 members on a Homesteading New Zealand Facebook page - Gillian says there's growing interest in getting back to a simpler way of life. She's now written a book called' The Good Life' - published by Allen & Unwin.

10:30 Auckland school parents' group launches no smartphone initiative

A group of parents at an Auckland School is on a mission to make it a smartphone free school - and has 100 families signed up. Esther Roberts is the mum of two children at Balmoral School - which goes up to year 8. She's founded Unplugged Together Balmoral, which encourages other families to delay giving their children a smartphone until at least Year 9. She says they're getting good support so far and it's so much easier to do when it's a group effort.

10:35 Book review: Death At The White Hart by Chris Chibnall 

Lisa Finucane reviews Death At The White Hart by Chris Chibnall published by Penguin Random House

10:45 Around the motu: Ellen Curnow in Westport

A new report detailing Buller's climate change risks will be tabled at Wednesday's council meeting, there will be a $15.3 million government cash injection into Westport and Greymouth ports, there has been vandalism at the local water supply, and the Gentle Annie dumper, which was stashed in the bush after being stolen, is back home.

Ellen Curnow is a Westport News reporter, covering the West Coast.

11:05 Business correspondent Dan Brunskill

The drop in US stocks hits KiwiSaver growth funds hard, as the American dollar and bonds are being avoided by investors. Dan also discusses the impact currency changes are having on the New Zealand economy. 

Dan Brunskill is an economic policy reporter for Interest NZ

11:30 Tatiana Goded's new novel draws on her experience as a Spanish expat in New Zealand

Having a Kiwi English tutor first piqued Tatiana Goded's interest in New Zealand as she grew up in Spain. Our frequent earthquakes later provided a natural place for her to work as a seismologist. She's now turned her hand to writing, with a book inspired by her experiences of being a Spanish expat in New Zealand. Her debut novel Trip Towards the Sunset considers what it's like to have a foot in two different worlds, never really feeling you belong in either. It's also a modern musing on motherhood - raising a family while still harbouring personal dreams of self-fulfillment. The three main characters' journeys take them around the world - from New Zealand to Scotland, Spain and Germany - all places with significance for Tatiana.

11:45 Sports-chat with Sam Ackerman

Rory McIlroy gets his induction into the elite of golf after winning the Masters at Augusta. The Blues win Super Rugby Aupiki and in the men's competition, a Hurricanes and Crusaders clash has highlighted the battle for the fullback position for the All Blacks. And in football, can Auckland FC get a piece of silverware in what has been a hugely successful debut season in the A-League?