Nine To Noon for Wednesday 27 November 2024

09:05 Israel and Hezbollah ceasefire deal 

Israel's Prime Minister says his security cabinet has agreed to a cease fire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon. In a televised address a short time ago, Benjamin Netanyahu says while a truce has been agreed, if a single rocket is fired or a tunnel is dug, Israel will strike back. He warns that should Hezbollah violate the deal by rearming - Israel will "respond severely". US President Joe Biden, is expected to speak about the deal in Washington DC shortly. Sebastian Usher is the BBC's Middle East editor 

09:20 Principal blames bureaucracy on delays for learning support funding

A school principal who has spent months trying to secure support for a high needs student says he has been bogged down by bureaucracy, and will retire before it is in place. The five year old student at Kaeo School in the Far North previously received learning support at his early childhood centre, but was taken off the books without explanation. The principal, Paul Barker, has been asking the Ministry of Education for a record of this decision to include in an application for funding, but has been met with several delays. Meanwhile, the school has pulled staff from other areas to provide its own support to the student. No alternative plan has been made with just 17 days before the school year ends and Paul Barker retires. Kathryn speaks to Paul Barker and the student's mother, Kataraina Hape.

09:30 'Heart' of capital city under threat: urban planner

Wellington City Councillors met yesterday to find hundreds of millions of savings in the city's long term plan, required after the council decided not to sell its stake in Wellington Airport. The $113 million Golden Mile proposal - which would include a ban on private cars between Lambton Quay and Courtenay Place - survived the cull. But a number of others are still potentially for the chop, including the City to Sea bridge connecting Civic Square to the harbour. Wellingtonian Stuart Niven is an urban designer with 40 years experience, including 20 years as a senior urban planner for the city of Melbourne. He warns if the bridge goes, the heart of the city is under threat.

09:45 Australia: Laos poisoning, social media ban, heatwave warnings

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton looks at the poisoning deaths of two Australians in Laos, along with four other backpackers, which is concerning parents seeing off their 'schoolies' on overseas trips. The government is pushing legislation through Parliament to implement its controversial under-16 ban on social media, despite age verification concerns. There's also immigration bills going through Parliament in response to High Court rulings on migrants' indefinite detention and parts of Australia are under heatwave warnings.

Karen Middleton is Political Editor of the Guardian Australia

10:05  Rambo Estrada crests the waves of New Zealand surf culture 

Surf photographer Rambo Estrada has published his first photographic collection, Unbound: Vol 1 An Aotearoa Road Trip. To compile the book, Rambo spent 18 months on the road, with the mission of capturing the raw beauty of our isolated coastlines and surf communities. A surfer himself for 40 years and a professional surf photographer for fifteen, Rambo's work has appeared in international publications and in campaigns by big surf brands. Rambo Estrada joins Kathryn to talk about the book, his passion for photography, and New Zealand's deeply embedded surf scene.

10:35 SolarZero enters liquidation

Solar power company SolarZero has been put into liquidation, leaving some customers worried about the contracts they have signed with the company. The company - which offers customers solar power systems with no upfront cost but an ongoing, multi-decade lease - said the directors had requested its shareholder appoint a liquidator. It said directors had requested its senior lenders take enforcement action, and appoint another provider Verofi, to ensure power service for customers was not interrupted. RNZ's Money correspondent Susan Edmunds explains what this means for customers.

10:40 Book review: Charlie Tangaroa and the God of War by T K Roxborogh 

Joanna Ludbrook from Chicken and Frog Bookshop in Featherston reviews Charlie Tangaroa and the God of War by T K Roxborogh published by Huia Publishers

10:45 Around the motu: Mike Tweed in Whanganui

Social service Birthright Whanganui closes after 65 years and others are fighting for survival. A stoush between the district council and a couple who moved a cabin onto their front yard looks set to be resolved. Sarjeant opening has kicked off a summer of events, and a happy ending in the saga of Benedict the duck.

Mike Tweed is a Multimedia Journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle

11:05 Music with Dave Wilson: What makes a good musical finale?

As the Broadway hit Wicked makes the leap to the big screen, music correspondent Dave Wilson looks at what makes great Act I finales in musicals. The end of the first act is often the biggest number in the show - even bigger than the actual finale. Dave looks at how these songs can become the anchor of their respective shows - and sometimes, bigger than the show itself.

Dave Wilson is a saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, and interdisciplinary scholar, a Senior Lecturer in Music at the New Zealand School of Music-Te Kōkī.

11:20 The history of NZ's first abortion clinic

Historian Jock Phillips talks about the controversial opening of the country's first abortion clinic in Auckland in 1974.  The original clinic in Remuera was swiftly raided by police,  and a doctor charged. A subsequent clinic had bomb scares and arson attacks. The Auckland Medical Aid Centre reopened again in 1979, but abortion remained under the Crime Act until 2020. 

11:45 Personal finance: Is New Zealand ready for an increase in older renters?

The latest census figures show that around a quarter of people over 65 don't live in a home they own, or partly own. The Retirement Commission says the New Zealand property sector is unprepared for a huge increase in seniors needing to rent homes in the future - and it's predicting a 100 percent increase in the number of renters aged over 65 by 2048. Money expert Liz Koh explores what it would take for the property sector to support older renters to 'age in place'.

Liz Koh is a money expert specializing in retirement planning. The advice given here is general and does not constitute specific advice to any person.