Nine To Noon for Friday 14 February 2025

09:05 Grace Millane's mother on her daughter's charity

It's just over six years since Grace Millane was murdered in Auckland. She met the man who murdered her on a Tinder date on the eve of her 22nd birthday. He's now serving at least 17 years in prison. Grace's murder horrified the nation and the world. Her mother, Gillian Millane, founded a charity in her name called Love Grace, for which she has received an OBE from Prince William and an award from then Prime Minister Boris Johnson. She has also campaigned against the rough sex defence, used by Grace's murderer,  and has helped to change the law in England and Wales. Gillian Millane talks with Kathryn about the Love Grace handbag appeal which kicks off in New Zealand today. Kathryn also speaks with NZ campaign coordinator, Kylie-Ann Kearney. Donation drop off sites can be found here.

09:20  Backyard nurseries selling pretty, but invasive, weeds online    

Environment Southland has warned against backyard nurseries selling pretty, but banned, plants on social media. In the past  3 years the  council has discovered individuals selling cotoneaster, buddleia and an invasive succulent known as pig's ear. A commercial nursery was also found selling a variety of  wilding pine.The regional council is fighting back against invasive plants and is asking  Southlanders to check their ponds for parrot's feather and their gardens for purple loosestrife with the hope of eradication. Environment Southland Biosecurity plants team leader Jolie Hazley joins Kathryn to explain what's going on.

09:30 Trip down memory lane: Sanson heritage house walk

Sanson man Alan Parker has given a whole new meaning to taking a walk down memory lane. For more than ten years, he's been collecting old houses from different eras and restoring them to the exact presentation they would've had in their heyday. Among the range are an 1860s colonial cottage, a 1900s bay villa, a 1930s art deco house, and a 1940s state house. There are still more houses to collect, but for two years visitors have been taking tours through the eight houses complete with a 45 minute audio tour about what life was like back then. Alan Parker speaks to Kathryn.

09:45 Pacific correspondent Caleb Fotheringham

RNZ Pacific journalist Caleb Fotheringham from the Cook Islands, where Prime Minister Mark Brown is due to return after a visit to Beijing which has caused major consternation.

10:05 How Twisted Sisters triathlete Kylie Frost said 'up yours' to her debilitating disease 

Eight years ago Kylie Frost was given a use it or lose it ultimatum by her physio - start exercising or go and find a wheelchair. 50-year-old Kylie has ankylosing spondylitis, a painful inflammatory arthritis that can make it difficult to walk at times. There is no cure and while exercise doesn't stop the arthritis, it helps with mobility. Kylie started out doing a couple of days at the pool in the mornings, but it was when a staff member asked her if she was training for something that she thought - maybe I'll give a triathlon a go. Her own experience with finding a coach and a training programme, proved there was a gap in the market for older people - particularly women - who wanted to take up exercise later in life, but weren't sure how to begin. She is now a qualified triathlon coach and runs the fast-growing Twisted Sisters group, which - at last count - was supporting 26 women to complete an ocean swimming challenge. This weekend Kylie is competing in the Tarawera Ultra-trail in Rotorua. But first, she speaks to Kathryn Ryan. 

10:30 US President announces sweeping tariffs 

President Donald Trump has unveiled a more sweeping tariff regime in a move seen as trying to reset US trading ties with the rest of the world. He's announced that reciprocal tariffs will be applied to US trading partners in essence countries that impose tariffs on US goods will have tariffs imposed on them. They differ from the sweeping tariffs imposed and then delayed on all goods from Mexico and Canada. But the new tariff regime would also look at non-tariff barriers, and value added taxes - GST in New Zealand. A White House official said the administration would examine what it called the most "egregious" issues first, including countries with the biggest trade surpluses and highest tariff rates. The implications for New Zealand are unclear - RNZ business editor Gyles Beckford joins Kathryn. 

10:35 Book review: Three of the best from 2024

David Hill reviews three of his favourite books from last year: Edith Collier: Early NZ Modernist by Jennifer Taylor, Jill Trevelyan and Greg Donson, published by Massey University Press, A House Built on Sand by Tina Shaw, published by Text Publishing, and Catch A Falling Star by Eileen Merriman, published by Penguin Random House NZ.

10:45 Around the motu: Robin Martin in Taranaki

There is tension between the New Plymouth Mayor and MSD over rough sleepers, a $10m centre city makeover includes a number of chopped trees, 135,000 lids were collected by Stratford schools to clean up recycling, and Te Matatini o Te Kāhui Maunga begins in under two weeks.

Robin Martin is a RNZ reporter based in Taranaki.

11:05 Music with Jeremy Taylor

Jeremy Taylor from Slowboat Records plays music from Nadia Reid's new album, new music from new from Brooklyn NYC singer songwriter Sharron Van Etten, Grammy winning rapper Kendrik Lamar and pays tribute to the late Marianne Faithful.

11:30 Sports commentator Sam Ackerman

Super Rugby Pacific awakes from its off-season slumber this weekend - will it finally start reaching its full potential with the fans? Sam Ackerman looks at the New Zealand teams, rugby’s big off-field distraction and the other sporting highlights of the week.

11:45 The week that was with te Radar and Irene Pink

Some of the quirky stories of the past week, including the Czech beavers who have flooded and built dams on a former army training site that is now a protected area.