Saturday Morning

7.11 Fifty years of the Waitangi Tribunal

It's been a big week with Te Rā o Waitangi front and centre.

And it's 50 years since the Waitangi Tribunal was established - but how have race relations changed across the half century?

Natalie Coates is a barrister at Thorndon Chambers, and a leading expert in the intersection between tikanga and the common law.

 

7.25 The fallout of Trump's controversial Gaza plan

US president Donald Trump has doubled down on his controversial plan to resettle Palestinians and take over the strip to redevelop into the "Riviera of the Middle East".

This comes after administration officials suggested any relocation would only be temporary.

Simon Marks is our Washington DC correspondent.

 

7.32 Diet and Parkinson's disease

What role can diet play in improving the lives of people with Parkinson's disease?

More than 12,000 New Zealanders suffer from the condition, and numbers are expected to increase significantly over the coming years.

Dr Fiona Lithander is the Associate Director and an Associate Professor in nutrition at the Liggins Institute at the University of Auckland.

 

7.37 Kiwi scientist at the heart of the UK's serial killer case

An international expert panel has found there is no evidence to support the conviction of British serial killer, Lucy Letby, in a detailed report released this week. 

She's serving 15 life sentences for the murder of seven babies by poisoning them with insulin and pumping air into their feeding tubes.

Letby was also found guilty of attempting to murder seven more. 

The former nurse has been twice refused permission to appeal her convictions and a public inquiry is underway in the UK on the basis of her guilt.

Professor Geoff Chase from the University of Canterbury is an adviser to the panel on bioengineering.

 

7.42 TikTok: Security concern or victim of geopolitics?

TikTok is the social media app that feels like it is taking over the world... or at least our kids.

It is massive, it is addictive - and there are also huge security and privacy concerns, mainly because it comes from China.

The US tried to ban it, then reversed that. Here in New Zealand - it is banned on parliamentary devices.

But can we separate genuine security concerns from the international politics.

RNZ explainer editor Katie Kenny breaks it down.

 

7.49 Te Tii Marae reopens

After a three-year restoration project, the 101-year-old Te Tii Marae wharenui at Waitangi has reopened its doors. 

The marae glow-up includes a paved courtyard, new carvings, and earthquake strengthening - and are just the first stage of planned renovations. 

On Monday, 300 attended a dawn service down at the marae, including politicans and iwi leaders. 

Chair of the Te Tii Marae, Ngāti Kawa, explains the significance of the whare to local hapū - and the nation. 

 

8.11 Are NZ designs open to being ripped off? 

We all know examples of designs being ripped off - particularly Māori designs being appropriated.

Last year, two new treaties were adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, one relating to patents and the other design law, in a bid to increase protections for original and indigenous ideas. 

The treaties, which have been negotiated for decades, were lauded as a significant move, especially around its new provisions for indigenous knowledge. 

But critics aren't impressed, saying they were watered down. 

Professor Jessica Lai from Victoria Univerisity specialises in intellectual property, especially patent law, the protection of Mātauranga Māori, and patents and gender. 

Lynell Tuffery Huria is the managing partner of Kāhui Legal. She is recognised as the first Māori Patent Attorney and is acknowledged as a leading expert on indigenous intellectual property rights, Māori intellectual property and trademark protection. 

 

8.40 Demystifying geothermal energy

New Zealand is the world's fifth largest generator of geothermal energy with just under 20% of our electricity generated this way.  

In November, the government announced a ringfencing of $60 million from the Regional Infrastructure Fund to be used for exploring geothermal's potential and its place in New Zealand's overall energy mix.   

Jeremy O'Brien leads a global team at Seequent - a technology leader in the worldwide geothermal industry, as well as oil and gas, carbon capture, and offshore wind. Last year, Seequent and the International Geothermal Association (IGA) partnered up to attempt to increase the viability, availability and accessibility of geothermal energy. 

Jeremy shares geothermal's potentials with Susie and Paddy.

8:50 Off leash - dog trainer Flip Calkoen

A proposed shake-up of dog rules in Auckland has caused sharp backlash amongst some in the community

Auckland Council has been accused of overreacting after proposing to change some off-leash areas and limit the number of dogs being walked by a person at any one time to six.

Flip Calkoen has been training dogs since 1978.

 

9.06 Bad to the bone: George Thorogood

Iconic rock band, The Destroyers, are returning to Auckland in May, with ZZ Top, to rock Aotearoa with classic hits including Bad to the Bone and One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer. 

The Destroyers started over fifty years ago and are still going strong today, having sold over 15 million albums and played thousands of live shows.

The band's front man, George Thorogood, caught up with Susie ahead of the upcoming NZ tour and spent some time reminiscing about the greats of rock 'n' roll.

 

9.30 A Moneyless Life: Jo Nemeth

A decade ago Jo Nemeth stopped using money in daily life.  

Jo walked away from her paid job and put her last $300 into her daughter's bank account, closing her own.

The reason? Jo wanted to reduce her impact and not buy things she didn't need.

Over the past ten years, with help from family and friends, Jo has carved out an alternative economy for herself.

She works for free, paying it forward, growing her own food and finding it in dumpsters.

The experiment is about to come to an end. Turns out there are some things only money can buy.

9:45 Tariffs, growth and unemployment: Liam Dann

What are tariffs and how will they affect New Zealand?

New Zealand Herald business editor-at-large Liam Dann unpack what's on the economic horizon.

Liam is the author of BBQ Economics: How money works and why it matters.

10.06 Dr Julie Smith - rewriting life advice when facing death

Psychologist and Tik Tok sensation Dr Julie Smith breaks down complex ideas about how our mind works into simple and creative snack-size viral videos. 

Her first book was the million-selling Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?  Dr Julie's second book Open When is a book for when you feel overwhelmed - whether you're facing grief, fear, difficult decisions, burnout, regrets or don't know how to ask for help. She rewrote the chapter on fear after a diagnosis of breast cancer.

10.40 Brynley Stent's singles road trip

Bryn & Ku's Singles Club is a new doco series following two comedians on a cross-country quest for love. 

Award-winning comedians Brynley Stent and Kura Forrester travel around the country getting to the bottom of Aotearoa's loneliness epidemic and try to line up a few dates at the same time.

Billy T award winner, Brynley Stent joins Paddy Gower with her findings from the road and why, for some, singledom can feel so overwhelming at times.

11.06 365+ Ways to Save the Planet and Your Money at the Same Time

Sustainability expert Lottie Dalziel, has built a career turning environmental problems into sustainable solutions.  

At the age of 24 Lottie founded Banish, an Australian educational platform, marketplace and recycling and disposal programme helping consumers live more eco-friendly lives. 

She's graced the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, which highlights the world's top influential young changemakers, and was named the NSW Young Australian of the Year in 2023. 

365+ Ways to Save the Planet and Your Money at the Same Time is Lottie's first book, showing living sustainability doesn't have to be hard or expensive – if you know how to approach it.

11.35 Geoff Parkes - from Rugby to Rural Noir

Geoff Parkes' has written two books on rugby, but now he's written about a different type of ruckus.

His debut novel is a crime fiction, When The Deep Dark Bush Swallows You Whole, set in rural New Zealand in the 1980s. 

In this eerie rural noir we meet rural communities where everybody knows one another...or think that they do.  

Parkes, a rugby writer by trade, was raised in rural King Country. Now Melbourne based, his column, The Wrap, is published each Monday and over the past 12 years has become staple reading for code heads the world over.

Books featured on this weeks show:

Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before
By Dr Julie Smith
Published by Penguin
ISBN: 9780241529720

365+ Ways to Save the Planet and Your Money at the Same Time
By Lottie Dalziel
Published by: Murdoch Books
ISBN: 1761500015

When The Deep Dark Bush Swallows You Whole
By: Geoff Parkes
Published by: Penguin
ISBN: 9781761349287