Nine To Noon for Thursday 26 June 2025

09:05 Tāmaki Makaurau MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp has died

The MP for Tamaki Makaurau Takutai Tarsh Kemp has died, aged 50. Kemp had been suffering from kidney disease. She was at Parliament yesterday, before travelling back to Auckland. RNZ political reporter Lillian Hanly reports from Parliament.

09:10 Big science sector shake up coming into force next week

Just six months ago the Prime Minister announced a major shake up of Crown Research Institutes, such as Niwa, the natural hazard experts GNS Science and AgResearch. The Crown entity Callaghan Innovation has been scrapped. The plan was for the seven CRI's to be merged to create three new public research organisations - an Institute for Bioeconomy Science, an Institute for Earth Science and  an Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science. Next week, these changes kick in. Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti, said the new organisations would have a strong commercial focus - this was about "turning research into results for New Zealand's economy." The changes have resulted in a number of scientists losing their jobs and the sector has pointed to reduced funding in the budget. So what is ahead? Kathryn is joined by the co-president of the New Zealand Association of Scientists, Lucy Stewart and Rod Badcock, who  is professor at the Robinson Research Institute at Victoria University, but spends most of his time at Open Star - a nuclear fusion start up aiming to create near limitless clean energy. 

09.20 Growing up in state houses assessed

Children who grow up in state homes have more behaviour issues in early childhood than those who don't, but they largely converge by early adolescence to have similar or higher wellbeing. That's according to a new analysis by Motu Research - using data from nearly 6,000 children in the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study. Children who begin life in public housing show higher problematic behaviour in early childhood out to age 2, but these decline over time, with wellbeing levels by age twelve similar to or higher than those of children in other housing tenures. Researchers expected families that moved around to show an impact on wellbeing, but found most children were resilient to moving. Strong relationships played a more critical role, they said. Jaimie Monk is a research fellow at Motu Research    

09:35 Are spiders an untapped resource for horticulture pest-control?

It's estimated that spiders consume up to 800 million tons of insects globally every year. But a new paper by Plant and Food Research says there's been very little analysis on the role that spiders play in managing pests on horticultural farms in Aotearoa New Zealand Researchers behind the paper are calling for more funding to study how spiders can be used for more eco-friendly pest control practises in our horticultural sector. Lead author Nicola Sullivan joins Kathryn to discuss.

09:45 UK: Welfare revolt, 12 new jets for nuclear payloads, Glastonbury

UK correspondent Dan Bloom looks at the political turbulence for Sir Keir Starmer over his government's plans to push ahead with cuts to benefits for disabled people, despite opposition from nearly a quarter of his own MPs. The UK is to by 12 dual-use F-35 fighter jets that can carry conventional and nuclear weapons. The move gives the UK the ability to carry airborne nuclear warheads for the first time since the 1990s. And more than 200,000 people are set to descend on the Glastonbury music festival.

Dan Bloom is Political Editor of Politico UK

10:05 Rock climbing great Beth Rodden 

Considered one of the greatest rock climbers of all time, Beth Rodden, has conquered much more than some of the world's most challenging summits. She is known for epic free climbs - where a climber uses their own strength to go up the wall and rope in just to prevent falls. Beth has achieved multiple firsts for women in the sport including the first to complete a free ascent of El Capitan, the world renowned vertical rock formation at Yosemite National Park. In 2000 she and three other climbers were kidnapped in Kyrgyzstan by rebels from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan for six days before overpowering one of their captors and escaping to a nearby military camp and returning to the US. In her memoir A Light Through The Cracks she tells the story of that harrowing event - including their decision to push their captor off a mountain top - and her long recovery from the trauma of it. Beth has gone on to advocate for better mental health support for climbers who often experience the deaths of close friends in the sport, and for equal pay for women. She is in New Zealand this week speaking to high school students in Wanaka as well as giving talks at the NZ Mountain Film and Book Festival. 

10:35 Book review: The Name of the Sister by Gail Jones 

Lynn Freeman reviews The Name of the Sister by Gail Jones published by Text Publishing

10:45 Around the motu: Logan Savory in Southland

Logan discusses the latest events in Southland including ongoing tension around the Southland Museum and Art Gallery since it's closure in 2018 due to earthquake concerns, an unnamed Invercargill woman was one of the two winners of Lotto NZ's latest Powerball on Saturday night, an Invercargill mayoral candidate is pushing for the return of the Southerner passenger train service, and it will be a big weekend for sport in Southland.

Logan Savory is the Southland Tribune editor based in Invercargill.

11:05 Tech: What's going on in NZ telecoms?

Technology correspondent Bill Bennett looks at Chorus' plan to extend the fibre network further into rural New Zealand, which has made it onto the Infrastructure Commission priorities programme. It would cost $2b to extend fibre from 87 to 95 percent of the country, but an NZIER report two years ago found those connections could bring $17b in benefits. He'll also look at the tough times at Spark, and why Spark and One NZ have recently raised broadband prices - higher than inflation. But did you notice your fibre speeds got a bump this month? 

Bill Bennett is an Auckland-based technology journalist

11:25 Parenting: How to talk to your children about conflict and war

It can be hard to avoid what's going on in the world right now, including for children. With images of war regularly topping the news on TV or online, it can be a concerning -  and confusing - time for kids. If they're exposed to images and stories about conflict and have questions about what it's about, what's the best way to answer them? How young is too young to see images of war, and what happens conflicts in far-away places cross-over into real world aggression or hate online, at school or in the community? Brad Morgan is the director of Emerging Minds, an Australian organisation which develops mental health policy, interventions and programmes, and leads the National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health. He joins Kathryn to discuss strategies parents can use to help their children understand world conflicts.

11:45 Screentime: Sirens, Playing Nice, Long Bright River

Film and TV reviewer Perlina Lau joins Kathryn to talk about new Netflix series Sirens, starring Julianne Moore as an enigmatic billionaire who may have trapped her young employee into a manipulative web. Playing Nice (Three) sees James Norton facing a parent's nightmare of their child being swapped at birth and Long Bright River (Three) is an American crime drama miniseries based on the 2020 book of the same name starring Amanda Seyfried.

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