Saturday Morning

7:10 Reserve Bank resignation

The resignation of the Reserve Bank chair Neil Quigley was announced by Finance Minister Nicola Willis last night as happening with "immediate effect".

It came after months of close scrutiny over his handling of Adrian Orr's resignation as Governor.

Quigley described Orr's resignation, in early March, as a "personal decision" but a series of revelations followed that cast doubt on that.

Minister Willis declined to be interviewed on Saturday Morning but in a pre-recorded interview to RNZ last night she said "Mr Quigley chose to tender his resignation. If he had not offered his resignation, I would have asked him for it."

RNZ Business Editor Gyles Beckford has the latest.

7:17 Polls closed in Samoan election

The polls have closed and results are trickling in for the Samoan General Election which has been described as one of the most unpredictable elections in history.
 
This election race was originally scheduled for April next year but brought forward after a split in the ruling FAST party.  It led to months of political instability that ended with Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa's minority government being unable to pass its 2025 Budget.

NZ Pacific correspondent Grace Tinetali-Fiava'a speaks to Mihingarangi Forbes from Apia. 

7:23 Elderly hit hard by cost of living crisis

Consumer confidence has fallen to a 10-month low as the high cost of living and weak housing and labour markets continue to have an impact.

Financial mentors say the cost of living is particularly concerning for those on fixed incomes like pensioners.

This week an RNZ survey showed even retirees who have paid off their homes are struggling as rates and insurance costs increase.

Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson joins Susie Ferguson from Wellington.

7:35 Latest on Ukraine and Russia

Overnight Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected proposals for a buffer zone between Ukrainian and Russian forces as part of a peace deal.

His comments followed a report suggesting European leaders were considering a 40km (25-mile) buffer zone as part of either a ceasefire or longer-term agreement.

In the same week, Russia launched its biggest attack on the Ukrainian capital this month, damaging EU and British offices. The strikes took place less than two weeks after US President Trump hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska, hoping to advance his peace efforts.

The BBC's Russian Editor Vitaly Shevshenko talks to Susie from London.

7:40 Teaching teens and schools about concussion

If you're scrambling around in the laundry right now looking for boots and shin pads, chances are you're off to a kid's sports event but alongside the joys of sport come some things to be wary of - like concussion.

To help teenagers and their schools better cope with concussion, a group of researchers has developed a framework which they hope to use to educate and encourage more reporting.

Project co-lead Professor Gisela Sole from Otago's School of Physiotherapy explains to Mihingarangi how it would work.

7:48 Partnering indigenous knowledge with technology

Marae are often on the front line of natural disasters, opening their doors to shelter the community and at times hit hard by floods themselves.

PhD researcher Haukapuanui Vercoe was recently recognised with the 2025 New Zealand Esri Young Scholar Award.

Vercoe represented Aotearoa at the Esri User Conference in San Diego, showcasing how indigenous knowledge and technology can work together to strengthen marae, whānau, hapū, and iwi resilience against natural hazards. 

He talks to Susie from his home in Rotorua.

7:56 NZ Fashion Week: Dogs on the catwalk 

NZ Fashion Week finishes today in Auckland. 

Having had a tough few years, there's a sense the fashion world in New Zealand is banding together, even seeing the return of one of its big global stars - alongside some surprising new ones!

RNZ's lifestyle and entertainment reporter Serena Soloman speaks to Mihingarangi about some of the highlights.

8:14 How Saudi Arabia took over the world of sport - James Montague 

Award-winning author James Montague has taken an in-depth look at how the murder of Saudi journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi sped up Saudi Arabia's involvement and investment in sport.  Following the blueprint of other Gulf states, sport has been used to repair Saudi PM Mohammed bin Salman's reputation.

The result is Engulfed, How Saudi Arabia Bought Sport, and the World.

James Montague has reported regularly for the New York Times, BBC World Service and CNN and is a two-time winner of Football Book of the Year at the British Sports Book of the Year Awards. 

8:43 Filling streets with trees 

Communities worldwide are planting trees as evidence grows of their benefits, with research being done here in New Zealand. 

While Hāwera has 7.5% tree canopy, Picton has nearly 59%. The average across all NZ towns and cities is 19%. 

University of Canterbury School of Forestry Professor Justin Morgenroth has been measuring tree-canopy coverage across the motu. He has provided estimates to councils of the leafiness of over 75 Kiwi towns and cities, for climate change mitigation, reduction of air pollution, improved water quality and better habitat for wildlife. 

9:10 Ian McEwan: What We Can Know

Described as 'one of the finest writers alive', Ian McEwan's latest novel is set in a post-climate change future where survivors are haunted by the richness of a lost world.

What We Can Know is a quest, literary thriller and love story. Set in the year 2119, in a world submerged by rising seas, it spans the past, present and future, asking questions about who we are and where we're going at a time when there's still cause for optimism.

Ian McEwan is the critically acclaimed author of seventeen books, including Amsterdam, which won the 1998 Booker Prize. Other works such as Atonement, Enduring Love, The Children Act and On Chesil Beach have all been adapted for the big screen.

9:44 Graham Leonard: Latest research on flooding

Volcanologist and Earth Sciences New Zealand principal scientist, Graham Leonard is back this week covering the challenge of flooding in Aotearoa.

The Auckland Anniversary floods and Cyclone Gabrielle brought such devastation and as extreme weather events become more common, how do experts predict what's coming and how can communities and individuals prepare?

Graham has the latest research from New Zealand's top scientists, weather modellers, councils and emergency managers. He speaks with Mihingarangi.

10:05 Queenie Tan: The Finfluencer Making Personal Finance Fun 

Most of us wish we were better with our money especially in the current economic climate when financial choices feel few and far between. But according to Sydney based financial influencer Queenie Tan, not only do you have choices but making them can be fun.  

Author of The Fun Finance Formula, the 28-year-old mum of one, is a 'finfluencer', making a living sharing her top tips for building wealth - regardless of whether you have $5000 to invest or just $5. 

When Queenie's own financial transformation began she had no savings - now she is worth seven figures and already has an investment plan in place to make her daughter a millionaire.

Queenie talks to Mihingarangi about the value of paying yourself first and her mission to financially empower women. 

10:25 Aotearoa Light: A lifetime exploring our backyard

Photographer, tramper and occasional climber Peter Laurenson has spent three decades documenting his outdoor adventures which now make up a new book called Aotearoa Light.

A celebration of the beauty of our backyard, Peter tells Susie why it's also a reminder that we need to protect it.  

10:38 Australian First Nations poet Dominic Guererra 

Australian First Nations poet, spoken word performer, artist, and Nations Editor at Cordite Review, Dominic Guererra has brought his work to New Zealand for the first time. 

Known for weaving his art practices with his primary job as an Aboriginal Health Worker and Educator, with a focus on sexual health, he was also a lead researcher and writer for the Aboriginal Gender Study. 

Dominic's work was included in a first of a kind anthology of poems by Queer Aboriginal poets called Dream Gather Grow. 

His own collection of poetry Native Rage is on its way and he'll discuss both that and another anthology he edited, The Rocks Remain - Blak Poetry and Story at Word Christchurch where he's appearing today.

11:06 Chef Rosheen Kaul's Secret Sauce

One of Australia's leading chefs, food columnists and author of the award-winning cookbook Chinese-ish, Rosheen Kaul is back with a saucy second book. Secret Sauce features over 100 recipes for sauces and accompanying meals that will appeal to pros and beginners alike.

Born in Singapore and raised in Australia, Rosheen's mixed cultural identity didn't make sense to her, until she laid it all out on the plate.

Later, while working as head chef of the beloved Melbourne restaurant Etta, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Rosheen discusses her food - and personal - journey with Mihingarangi, how to create a positive work culture in the kitchen and shares some tips on how to make really good sauce! Her recipe for Schnitzel with ‘Café de Rosheen’ Butter can be found here. 

11:31 Daria Lavelle: Aftertaste

Clairgustance is the psychic ability to perceive tastes or flavours through extrasensory perception, rather than mere eating.

It's at the core of Ukraine-born, American author Daria Lavelle's Aftertaste, part ghost story, part gastro romance, it's an investigation of food: what we like to eat, who it reminds us of and who it connects us to.

Daria speaks to Susie about her odyssey through food and love, life and death.