Nine To Noon for Thursday 2 October 2025

09:05 Energy Minister on reform of electricity system

The Government is defending its decision to tread lightly with its energy sector reform. Amid a raft of recommendations from consultants Frontier Economics, the Government rejected 8 of 10 of the ideas put forward. The major recommendation was that the Crown sell down its shares in Meridian, Mercury and Genesis, and create a Govt entity that would buy fuels to back-up the market, and deal with the dry-year risk. Instead, the Government's chosen to continue to trust the big gentailers to deliver that back-up - mainly coal and gas, with Finance Minister Nicola Willis writing to the boards of its three majority-owned gentailers stating the Crown was ready to put taxpayer money into coal and gas back-up generation. The government's also pledged to back an LNG import facility, starting a procurement process immediately. Major users, retailers and business groups see the moves having little impact on prices. Energy Minister Simon Watts joins Kathryn to discuss the Government's decisions. 

09:20 Concerns remain over eligible investor provisions 

The Shareholders Association remains concerned investors risk biting off more than they can chew - when it comes to getting involved in wholesale investment schemes. Wholesale investments promise attractive returns but those offering them don't have to provide the same level of disclosure as they would for a retail offer. This is because they are designed to be for investors with higher levels of experience, who can evaluate the risks themselves. This is known as the "eligible investor exemption". An investor can engage in a wholesale deal if they are deemed "eligible" - and a lawyer or accountant must sign a certificate acknowledging their expertise. However, the Financial Markets Authority has been raising concerns for a number of years that it is too easy for such a certification to be granted. The FMA raised example of certification being granted based off experience such as holding a term deposit or KiwiSaver, buying or selling a rental property, and investing in shares. And it recently asked the High Court to test whether the eligible investor exemption provision was fit for purpose. To talk more about the case before the court and possible next steps is Oliver Mander the chief executive of the Shareholders Association and Minter Ellison Rudd Watts partner Jane Standage.

09:40  Dame Jane Goodall - extract of interview from 2017

Animal rights campaigner and chimpanzee expert Dame Jane Goodall has died at the age of  91. In announcing her death, the Jane Goodall Institute, said she was in California where she was set to appear as part of a speaking tour. The Institute described her as a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of the  natural world. Dame Jane Goodall was not only a world-renowned conservationist, primatologist and ethnologist, but also a UN Messenger of Peace. But she is perhaps best known  for her ground breaking study in the 1960s on the chimpanzees of the Gombe, in Tanzania, which altered forever the accepted definition of humanity. Kathryn spoke to Jane Goodall when she was on a speaking tour of New Zealand in 2017.

09:40 Aid flotilla to Gaza intercepted

The Israeli foreign ministry says several vessels of the Gaza aid flotilla have been stopped and their passengers are being transferred to an Israeli port. It says the Swedish climate campaigner, Greta Thunberg, and her friends are "safe and healthy." A New Zealander, Samual Leason, is among the campaigners on one of the vessels. RNZ World Watch journalist Niva Chittock is following developments

09:45 UK: Labour conference, Reform polling high, new 'spy register'

UK correspondent Matt Dathan looks at Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's performance at the Labour Party conference, as a mass in-depth poll shows Nigel Farage's Reform UK party will be just a few seats away from a majority at the next election. And a new law will punish lobbyists or spies who work for British enemies - but which companies have signed up for the new 'spy register'?

Matt Dathan is Home Affairs Editor at The Times

10:05 The chessmaster who grew up in a cult

If chess.com were a country it would be the 8th most populous in the world with around 205,000,000 users. But co-founder Danny Rensch's story isn't your typical Silicon Valley success story. He grew up in rural Arizona in a religious cult, where his talent for chess was preached as a divine "purpose."  He was pushed hard, both celebrated and controlled. By his twenties, he had won national titles and achieved International Master status, but was also a high school dropout, deep in debt, battling panic attacks and alcohol addiction. He also had a vision: to make the game to be as accessible and rewarding as possible. His new memoir Dark Squares tells that story: the cult years, the dark years, and the revolution that has changed the game. 

10:35 Book review: The Welcome of Strangers by Atholl Anderson

Jonathan West reviews The Welcome of Strangers by Atholl Anderson, published by Bridget Williams Books.

10:45 Around the motu: Jonathan Leask reports on Mid Canterbury

Jonathan discusses the fall-out from the Environment Canterbury decision to declare a nitrate emergency, efforts to refurbish the salmon sculpture that welcomes people to Rakaia and the public pool getting filled in without council approval.

Jonathan Leask from the Ashburton Guardian

11:05 Tech: BBC staff targeted, Asahi beer hacked, nursery kids' data stolen

Cyber-security expert Tony Grasso looks at how a BBC reporter was targeted by the infamous Medusa ransomware operation and offered money to grant them access to BBC systems. A cyber-attack on the Asahi brewing giant has disrupted its operations in Japan. And a nursery chain in the UK has been hacked by a group that's previously posted images of children and personal contact details of the children, their parents and carers on the dark web.

Tony Grasso is Principal Consultant at cybersecurity firm TitaniumDefence. He worked at GCHQ in the UK and is a former Intelligence Officer in New Zealand.

11:25 Why you shouldn't ask your kids what job they want when they leave school

Did you know when you were at school what job you wanted to do when you left? My next guest says we need to move away from that, because in this era of fast-moving technological change it's hard for anyone to know exactly where the job market's going to go - let alone kids. Jane Kennelly is Director of People for Skills Group, which works with businesses, industry bodies and government agencies on how to build or upskill their workforce. It also works with school guidance counsellors. Jane says locking kids into a job title at 16 or 17 just piles on the pressure. Instead, parents and teachers should help guide teens into subjects they enjoy - which they can build a good foundation on for further skills and study. 

11:45 Screentime: The Pitt, The Ballad of Wallis Island

Film and television reviewer Perlina Lau joins Kathryn to discuss The Pitt, a US medical drama that follows hospital staff as they cover a 15-hour work shift. The Ballad of Wallis Island is a British comedy-drama starring Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan as a folk duo who reunite to perform for a wealthy fan. 

Perlina Lau is co-host of RNZ's Culture 101 programme