Nine To Noon for Thursday 15 May 2025

 

 

09:05 BNZ says $2.2 billion coming into mortgage holders pockets as interest rates fall

Falling interest rates will deliver $2.2 billion into the pockets of mortgage holders in the next six months to a year, according to the BNZ's Chief Economist. The Reserve Bank will announce its next official cash rate decision later this month with most commentators expecting another quarter of a percent cut from 3.5 per cent.  Mike Jones says the majority of the positive cash flow is yet to flow through to borrowers, and a good chunk of it may go on paying the bills. Meanwhile almost one in 10 residential property sales are happening for a price less than the seller paid, according to the latest Pain and Gain report from Cotality, formerly Corelogic, which shows the gains and losses being made by sellers around the country.How much more can mortgage holders expect to see flowing through to them and when? As rates come down, when is it time to fix, and what is the outlook for the housing market ? Mike Jones joins Kathryn.

09:20 Are the rules for online alcohol deliveries too loose? 

The ease of which alcohol can be ordered online without ID checks and delivered within minutes, is causing concern for most New Zealanders, according to new survey from Health Coalition Aotearoa. New Zealand law does not require proof of age identification at the point of online purchase,  or the delivery of alcohol. The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act states that so-called remote sellers - internet, phone, or mail order vendors - should take `reasonable steps to verify age.  Regulatory guidance suggests reasonable procedures include:  for internet sales, a person ticking a onscreen box saying they are 18 over when first entering the site, and again just before purchasing. Three-quarters of alcohol deliveries to Auckland homes were being left unattended on doorsteps or being made without checking IDs, according to NZ Medical Journal research published last year - and found alcohol could be delivered within minutes. A new survey by Talbot Mills for Health Coalition Aotearoa,  finds 81% of New Zealanders believe said online alcohol deliveries should have to follow the same checks as bars and stores. Steve Randerson, co-chair of the Health Coalition Aotearoa Alcohol Expert Panel, joins Kathryn. 

09:30 The UK company that wants to recycle all of Britain's EV batteries  

Batteries for electric vehicles are notoriously difficult to recycle, but growing demand for the rare metals they contain is leading to greater interest in  retrieving their contents. The majority of ev battery recycling is carried out in China, with smaller amounts    done in the US and Europe. But as the number of electric vehicles in circulation grows, so too will the demand for the rare metals needed for manufacture along with the number of batteries to be recycled. The countries where materials such as cobalt, lithium and nickel are mined are limited, making the idea of great self sufficiency attractive.  Altilium- a recycling firm based in south-west England that has been perfecting techniques to be able to retrieve as many elements from the old electric car batteries as possible. Altilium's Finance Director, Sean Joseph, joins Kathryn to talk about what the company is hoping to achieve.

09:45 UK correspondent Matt Dathan

UK correspondent Matt Dathan looks at a speech given by Prime Minister Keir Starmer which has drawn comparions with Enoch Powell's infamous anti-immigration "rivers of blood" speech; emergency measures to reduce prison overcrowding, and an expensive European taxi ride taken by UK foreign secretary David Lammy. 

10:05 Erna Walraven : one of the first female zookeepers in Australia

Erna Walraven became one of Australia's first female zookeepers in the early 1980s. She wasn't exactly welcomed by some of her male colleagues , and that made her curious about power dynamics in the animal world. She became senior curator at Taronga Zoo, and has now written a book on her observations after three decades. From the aggressive female argonaut, to the promiscuous lady emu, to the 'drag queen cuttlefish', Erna Walraven examines gender roles throughout the animal kingdom, unpacking some myths along the way. Her book is called Hear Me Roar: a memoir about zookeeping and what animals taught me about feminism.

10.30 Plans for biggest inland port in Milburn 

Construction company Calder Stewart has announced plans to build the country's biggest inland port in the small Otago town of Milburn. It is part of a $3 billion development that will span 200 hectares - with the inland port making up about a quarter of that. The site is zoned for heavy industrial use. Calder Stewart says freight volumes to the area are expected to grow by as much as 40 per cent in the next decade thanks to seasonal peaks in forestry and dairy exports. The company says Port Chalmers is facing storage limits and Milburn was ready to go. Calder Stewart says an inland port there could take as many as 10,000 truck movements off the road a year. Calder Stewart is building the site, which it says will get underway in 24 months. Clutha mayor Bryan Cadogan says the plans are magnificent, especially because the private sector is paying for it. 

10:35 Book review: Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben 

Ralph McAllister reviews Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben published by Century

10:45 Around the motu: Libby Kirkby McLeod in Hamilton

Hamilton will need around 500 additional hotel rooms in the next five years in order to keep up with demand for big events like the recently announced relocation of the Homegrown music festival to the city, Hamilton's young people have been weighing in on the government’s budget, Kakapo have been heard booming in the North Island for the first time in over a century, and Te Kōwhai is going to have a new unique subdivision; a residential airpark.

Libby Kirkby-McLeod is a RNZ Waikato Reporter.

11:00 Government announces $190 million social investment fund 

11:05 New technology: Tony Grasso

Tony discusses a recent randsomware attack on an Australian construction firm where 17 GB of corporate data was allegedly taken; the US Justice Department has unsealed indictments against 12 individuals, so called "hackers for hire; and New Zealand has seen a dramatic 68% increase in sextortion cases in the first three months of the year, according to Netsafe.

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 The challenges and triumphs of solo motherhood

There are a lot of books on parenting, but very few about what happens when you suddenly find yourself doing it on your own. This was the experience of Australian author and podcaster Rachel Maksimovic. She became a solo mum when she was just 20 weeks' pregnant - and among the financial and career challenges it brought - there were a host of other, unexpected things. That prompted her to start her podcast called Mothering on My Own. It's now morphed into a book of the same name, in which 30 women who have found themselves parenting on their own share their stories.  Rachel says society still judges single mums negatively - and fails to recognise the fullness of their lives. 

11:45 Screentime: La Cocina, The Four Seasons, Choir Games

Tamar Munch reviews La Cocina (cinemas) ; The Four Seasons (Netflix) and local series Choir Games (Sky Open/Neon)