Nine To Noon for Wednesday 4 June 2025

09:05 Transpower chair calls for major reform of electricity market

Outgoing Transpower chair Keith Turner says the country's electricity sector needs real reform and changes around the edges will not do. And he says there are doable changes, such as introducing the single buyer model, that will reduce the share price of the so-called big four gentailers, and ultimately lead to lower prices for consumers and a more productive economy. Keith leaves after a 50-year career in electricity here and in Australia that has included stints as chief executive of one of the country's biggest generator-retailers and leading the setup of the country's grid operator, Transpower, where he finished as chair last week. Keith was also pivotal as one of the members of the 1989 Electricity Taskforce that laid out the blueprint for the reforms for the electricity industry we have today. But it is a system that is now delivering high prices to consumers and high profits to four generator-retailer companies.

Update: Friday June 13. In our live discussion on Wednesday, 4 June about electricity market reform, former Transpower Chair Keith Turner made statements about the consultancy leading the review, Frontier Economics. RNZ subsequently made that interview available online before undertaking an inquiry of its own regarding those statements. RNZ accepts that certain statements made by Mr Turner were inaccurate and without foundation. RNZ understands from Frontier that it has a strong reputation in its field in Australia and is actively engaging with almost every retail generator in that jurisdiction at the present time. RNZ unreservedly withdraws those statements and apologises to Frontier for publishing Mr Turner’s statements without undertaking any independent verification.

09:20 Closing the gaps for our tradies

Next, the call for a new national portal, to make it easier for trades apprentices to qualify and find placements. It comes from the general manager of Seven Electrical, based in Wellington. And part of a nationwide chain of electrical and other trades services, Aotea Group. Seven Electrical general manager Peter Couchman says the proposed portal could provide real-time access to training progress, safety credentials, assessment timelines, and support resources, effectively closing the gap between the classroom and worksite. He said it could be a gamechanger, at an exciting time for the trades, which are increasingly at the cutting edge of sustainable technology. 

09:45 Australia: Mushroom case, defence spending, wages up

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton joins Kathryn for an update on the Erin Patterson case - the woman accused of killing three of her in-laws by death cap mushrooms - after she took the witness stand yesterday. PM Anthony Albanese is rebuffing a call from the US to up defence spending, millions of Australians are about to get a pay rise of 3.5% after the Fair Work Commission decided the national minimum wage needed to rise and the social media craze 'Run it Straight' has made it to Australia.

10:05 Nutritionist Claire Turnbull on her 'messy and complicated' struggle with herself and food

Wellbeing expert Claire Turnbull is known for her practical advice for those wanting to make positive health and lifestyle changes. Originally from the UK, she leads a team of experts through her private practice Mission Nutrition, and is also a sought-after speaker, columnist and book author.  For the first time, Claire is now opening up about her own struggles with food and her post-natal anxiety. In her new book, End Your Fight with Food she shares her lifetime battle with disordered eating, depression and anxiety. Claire Turnbull joins Kathryn Ryan.

10:35 Book review: Never Flinch by Stephen King

Quentin Johnson reviews Never Flinch by Stephen King published by Hachette 

10:45 Around the motu: Amy Williams in Auckland

Auckland Museum partially reopens this week after asbestos was found in the nearly 100 year old building, a hearing is almost wrapped up for a new helicopter pad, Auckland's City Mission has held an art exhibition with a difference and they were also among foodbanks that pleaded for funding in the recent 2025 budget, and Auckland libraries are trying something new - lending board games.

Amy Williams is a RNZ senior reporter in Auckland.

11:05 Music with Kirsten Zemke: Songs that are out of this world

Music correspondent Kirsten Zemke looks at science fiction theme music and plays a selection of some of the biggest hits of the 20th century.

Kirsten Zemke is an ethnomusicologist at the University of Auckland's School of Social Sciences.

11:20 Against the Odds: The Kiwi women who fought to become doctors

This year Otago Medical School turns 150. Half of the graduates will be women. But it was not always the case, and a new book details the struggle of women to become part of New Zealand's medical fraternity. Against the Odds: New Zealand's First Women Doctors covers a 70 year period from the 1890s to 1967 - the year before a medical school would open in Auckland, with biographies of 150 of the 400 female Otago graduates over that time. Many faced discrimination from their family, peers and lecturers - told they were "taking a man's place" or that they'd simply "leave to have babies". In some cases, bits of flesh would be put into lab coat pockets - some teachers made female students leave the room during lectures on the reproductive system. Yet they persisted - with the majority of those graduating over those 70 years going on to have successful careers. Kathryn speaks to the book's co-authors Cynthia Farquhar and Michaela Selway.

 

11:45 Science: How sitting shrinks your brain, crime from the cradle

Science commentator Allan Blackman looks at how sitting for hours can affect your brain - even if you're doing regular exercise. A major new study has tracked 80,000 Queenslanders, looking at how their path to crime was shaped early and differently, for men and women.

Allan Blackman is a Professor of Chemistry, School of Science, Auckland University of Technology.