Nine To Noon for Monday 5 May 2025

09:05 Councils forge ahead with climate risk decisions affecting insurance

Local councils and insurers are increasingly forging ahead with decisions on which properties are at climate risk, affecting insurance premiums, in a legislative void. The Climate Change Minister has confirmed that adaptation legislation planned for the first quarter of this year, will now not be ready until the end of the year. Simon Watts says New Zealanders, councils, and markets need long-term certainty about how the country will adapt and what that will mean for them, and the building blocks of a new national adaptation framework should be in place by year's end. But it is necessary to take time to get it right, he says. In the meantime, councils and insurers are forging ahead with risk assessments that impact people's insurance. Several councils have introduced, or proposed, hazard maps. Nelson is one of them. And when its proposed was map was put out for consultation in 2024, there were reports of house sales falling through. Kathryn talks to Nelson mayor Nick Smith about how hazard maps are being used in his district. She is then joined by Simpson Grierson partner Mike Wakefield, a specialist in environmental and local government law. Kris Faafoi talks about what the insurance sector is doing in lieu of the climate adaptation framework.

09:35 Calls to keep plain language law as it heads for repeal 

A law to enforce the use of plain language in official documents and on government websites is being scrapped over criticism it is achieving nothing more than extra costs and red tape, but proponents argue that's not true and the Act needs to stay. The Plain Language Bill came into effect just over two years ago and requires government agencies to appoint a plain language officer, train staff to communicate using plain language and avoiding jargon, and report back annually to the Public Service Commissioner on how they have complied with the Act. But the Public Service Minister Judith Collins says rather than solving anything, the requirements have created a bureaucratic nightmare, and has promised to repeal it. Lynda Harris is the founder and chief executive of Write Group, a firm that helps organisations produce clear and easily understandable documents, and says scrapping the Act is a backward step. 

09:45 Europe correspondent Seamus Kearney

Trump-aligned candidate leads Romania's presidential race, German spy agency classifies far-right AfD party as extremist, Vatican installs chimney for conclave smoke signals, and a spate of cryptocurrency-linked kidnappings in France.

10.05 Professor Martin Stiles on fixing heartbeats  

Martin Stiles is the man credited with fixing the heart rhythms of some of our great Olympians. He's now been made a full Professor at the University of Auckland - the first Professor of Medicine at Waikato Hospital which is a training ground for young doctors from Auckland. Martin did his medical training at Otago University in the 90s and soon specialised in cardiology, completing a PhD on electrophysiology in Adelaide in 2009. After his work researching the electric signals in the heart that govern its rhythm, he convinced Waikato Hospital to purchase equipment used for an operation known as cardiac ablation. This is an operation done to fix irregular heartbeats - often found in elite endurance sportspeople. Those athletes include Olympic gold medal winners Rob Waddell and - more recently Alicia Hoskins who took two golds at last year's Olympics in the canoe with Dame Lisa Carrington. 

10:35 Book review: Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie Gilbert 

Sonja de Friez reviews Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie Gilbert published by Hachette

10:45 Around the motu: Mike Tweed in Whanganui

Whanganui social services are bracing for the planned pullback of police from mental health callouts, the mayoral race is heating up, St George’s is on the chopping block, and Whanganui has “once in a lifetime” softball talent.

Mike Tweed is a Multimedia Journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle.

11:05 Political commentators Brigitte Morten and Lianne Dalziel

Brigitte Morten is a director with public and commercial law firm Franks Ogilvie and a former senior ministerial advisor for the previous National-led government, a National Party member and currently volunteering for the party's deputy leader, Nicola Willis.

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.

11:30 How a trip to Spain inspired a cookbook full of Spanish flavour 

We all lament the end of a holiday and the return to normality - but one of my next guests found a novel way to keep the spirit of her trip alive. Melanie Jenkins and her friend Claudia Kozub had a blast in Spain, admiring Gaudi's architecture in Barcelona and the streets of Ibiza's old town. Then there was the food.... As a photographer, Mel had well documented what she saw over there. Her friend, food writer and stylist Jo Wilcox, was intrigued - the result is a collaboration between the pair called 'Take Me to Spain'. It's chock-full of the flavoursome Spanish fare - from Patatas Bravas, paellla and boiled orange and olive oil cake - to a sangria cocktail with a simple tapas side. They both join Kathryn to talk about why the book is a passport to the flavours and friendships of Spain.

11:45 Urban Issues with Bill McKay 

Bill discusses the Resene Architecture and Design Film Festival.

Bill McKay is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland.