Nine To Noon for Tuesday 29 April 2025

09:05 Retiring public spending watchdog: are taxpayers getting bang for buck?

Poor performance reporting, difficulty tracing what government spending actually achieves, and the erosion of trust in the public sector have been key concerns of the Auditor General John Ryan. He retires from the role of public spending watchdog on July 1 after a seven year term. In that time he has overseen thousands of audits of Crown entities including nearly 2500 schools. The office has also investigated huge public spending projects from post Covid subsidies, to the Provincial Growth Fund, to how the government is achieving its climate goals. In other words - are taxpayers getting bang for buck? With government spending more than $160b a year, Mr Ryan says whoever is in power should be able to say what it wants to achieve, how it's going to do so, how much it will cost, and what progress is being made.

 

09:30 Why this year's 40-Hour Challenge is to go offline for climate change in the Pacific

What was once the 40-Hour Famine is now the 40-Hour Challenge, and this year World Vision is hoping to inspire young New Zealanders with a test for the modern era - to go offline for 40 hours.  The switch off can be social media, gaming, the internet - or even electricity. This year's Challenge runs the weekend of June 13 to15, and aims to draw attention to the impact climate change is having in the Pacific. One in six children in the Pacific experience food poverty, with rising seas impacting on traditional fishing and farming practices and increasing food insecurity. Joining Kathryn to talk about his country's experience of this is 19-year-old Roy Wasi. He's from the Malaita Province in Solomon Islands and has represented his country at a number of global climate change forums. TJ Grant, Associate National Director of World Vision New Zealand, explains how the Challenge seeks to connect young Kiwis with the experiences of their Pacific neighbours.

09:45 USA correspondent Ron Elving

Ron Elving is a Senior Editor and Correspondent, Washington Desk for NPR news.

10.05 Flaxmere's biggest champion: Henare O'Keefe 

Henare O'Keefe is adamant that Flaxmere is on the up, and his part in that is no small matter. The Hawke's Bay town has had a reputation for crime and violence, but that hasn't stopped Henare from promoting it as a place of opportunity. Late last year a major new housing development of 500 homes was announced, while another development between the Government and Hastings District Council will see a new senior housing development built in the southwest corner of Flaxmere's town centre. Getting more housing into Flaxmere to meet a growing population has been one of Henare's focuses, and he has become the face of one of the new housing developments. He is renowned for his hands-on approach to addressing violence and empowering the disadvantaged, whether through his work in prisons or setting up the marae-based Māori youth court in Flaxmere.  Serving as a Hastings District Councillor for 15 years, Henare was honoured with the Queen's Service Medal in 2011 for all of his community work. Henare talks to Kathryn about his life's work. 

10:35 Book review: Preachers, Pastors, Prophets: The Dominican Friars of Aotearoa New Zealand by Susannah Grant 

Harry Broad reviews Preachers, Pastors, Prophets: The Dominican Friars of Aotearoa New Zealand by Susannah Grant published by Otago University Press

10:45 Around the motu: Piers Fuller in Wairarapa

Piers discusses the price rebound boosting the morale of local farmers, a $200k clean-up in South Wairarapa will soon be underway in response to fly-tipping, remaining staff at Hansells Masterton navigate receivership, and the Kim’s Way Night Refuge has opened in Masterton.

Piers Fuller is the editor of the Wairarapa Times-Age, based in Masterton.

11:05 Business commentator Rebecca Stevenson

Shampoo and conditioner bar company Anihana hopes visa changes will help it attract US investors, while shares are added to Kernel Wealth's platform. Meanwhile, a new TikTok trend is confusing buyers of luxury products with claims that brands such as Louis Vuitton are being made in China.

Rebecca Stevenson is a senior journalist at BusinessDesk

11:30 Wētāpunga: Older than dinosaurs and a little weird looking

If you had to design the scariest insect you can imagine - it might come out looking something like a Wētāpunga. The  creatures grow to the size of a mouse or a sparrow, have beady black eyes with long antennae and legs covered in spikes. But while dinosaurs have come and gone, the wētāpunga - or Giant Weta - has survived in Aotearoa for over 80 million years. Author Jo van Dam and illustrator Laura Rayner have created a book aimed at sharing fascinating facts about wētāpunga with children aimed at getting them interested in the creatures. And Don McFarlane, Auckland Zoo's team leader ectotherms tells Nine to Noon about the particular efforts to breed them.

11:45 Sports-chat with Marc Hinton

Auckland FC win the Premier's Plate, the Warriors win in a Christchurch NRL match as the Super Rugby season inches towards the playoffs with Australian and New Zealand teams dominating the top six.