Nine To Noon for Tuesday 10 February 2026

09:05 Allegations new curriculum development "heavily politicised"

A former Education Ministry employee has made a public submission saying the development of a new school curriculum was heavily politicised, causing extensive rewrites and sidelining subject experts. Claire Coleman - who previously had lead the revision of the arts curriculum - made the allegations during her appearance at select committee in relation to the Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill. The legislation aims to centralise school property management, tightening attendance provisions and it also alters curriculum oversight. Union opponents says the amendment bill would give the Education Minister the power to unilaterally make changes to the curriculum, and how it is taught.  Claire Coleman talks to Kathryn about her concerns over the place of evidence and process in curriculum development.

09:20 The government says demolition remains an option for closed Tongariro Chateau

The local mayor says the Government's response to their petition to save the Tongariro Chateau is encouraging, despite demolition remaining on the table. The response said Conservation Minister Tama Potaka has directed DOC to engage with iwi and potential investors regarding terms to get the hotel reopened. But it says demolition or decommissioning remained options. The chateau has sat empty since it was closed in February 2023 due to its earthquake risk and then operator Kah New Zealand quit its lease. Ruapehu Mayor Weston Kirton believes there are people in putting the money forward, if the terms are right. 

09:30 Sister Bliss on 30+ years of Faithless and playing Auckland's Synthony

It's been three decades since British band Faithless burst onto the dance music scene Insomnia. No sleepy hit, it awakened a generation of ravers to Faithless' unique sound - a mixtape of musical genres like house and trip hop. Their songs included powerful spiritual and often political lyrics from the late Maxi Jazz, one of the original founders of the band, along with Rollo Armstrong and Ayalah Bentovim- A.K.A Sister Bliss. Faithless is coming back to New Zealand shores after 15 years to play Auckland's Mānuka Phuel Synthony Festival on March 21. To talk about that, her incredible journey with the band and how it's continuing to honour Maxi's legacy, Kathryn is joined by Sister Bliss.

09:45 Ghislaine Maxwell pleads the Fifth

Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell refuses to answer any questions when facing the House Oversight Committee, taking the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. David also discusses US President Trump's refusal to apologise for a social media post depicting former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama as apes, and the two Washington institutions in turmoil. 

David Smith is Washington bureau chief at The Guardian

10:05 How social media is fuelling an African Grey parrot black market 

If you spend much time at all on social media you've probably come across Gizmo - an African Grey parrot whose owners post videos of his entertaining, and sometimes sassy, conversations to their half a million YouTube subscribers. If not Gizmo, chances are you've come across one of the many other social media accounts promoting the intelligent and entertaining bird. The African Grey can live to be 80 years old. Their brain is the size of a walnut, but they have the intelligence of a young child, and have an incredible ability to mimic human speech and other sounds. No wonder they make such entertaining videos - and no wonder many people want one of their own. Rene Ebersole is the co-founder of Wildlife Investigative Reporters and Editors - a nonprofit journalism organization exposing wildlife crime and exploitation of nature. She traveled from South Africa, to the Congo, to the UAE and Florida, uncovering the burgeoning African Grey black market and speaking to those within it. 

10:35 Book review:  Three of the best from 2025

Louise O'Brien reviews three of her favourite books from last year: The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith, published by Sphere, Familiaris by David Wroblewski, published by Abacus Books, and The Image of Her by Simone de Beauvoir, published by Vintage.

10:45 Around the motu: Che Baker, the editor of the Southland Times

Che discusses how farmers who were supplied emergency generators during storms are now getting bills, the Southland company SpaceOps is working with NASA to track a spacecraft flying around the moon and Southern Field Days kicks off tomorrow.

11:05 Crown's 'red' regional investments, NZX reporting season  

Crown Regional Holdings reported a sharp increase in "red"-rated projects for the 2024/25 financial year, with over half of its $433 million loan book now considered at risk or in default. The NZX reporting season kicks off this week with analysts closely watching for earnings resets and margin recovery signs from heavyweights like a2 Milk, Fletcher Building, and Ebos.

Rebecca Stevenson is a senior journalist at BusinessDesk.

11:30 When is a mole not a mole? Your skin health questions answered

You might have caught a bit of sun this summer, but when is a sunburn, or a mole, or a bump on the skin cause for concern? And what should you do about it? Dr David Hassan is a vocationally registered General Practitioner with over 16 years of experience - 10 of those dedicated to specialising in skin cancer medicine. He is a founding member of SunDocs, established in 2018, which focuses on delivering accessible, expert skin cancer services to local communities. Send in your skin questions to us at Nine to Noon - on text 2101 or email ninetonoon@rnz.co.nz 

11:45 Superbowl, Winter Olympics

Zoi Sadowski-Synott wins New Zealand's first medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in the big air snowboard event; the Black Caps start well at cricket's T20 World Cup. And Glen discusses the antics and the hype of this year's Super Bowl -  the Seattle Seahawks are this year's champions. 

Glen Larmer is a sports commentator, and broadcaster.