Nine To Noon for Monday 17 February 2025

09:05 Moves to pay more for consumer-generated electricity

The electricity regulator wants households with solar to be paid more for helping the grid when it's stressed. The Electricity Authority is asking for feedback on a proposal from its Energy Competition Task Force set up at the height of last year's energy crisis. Transpower is warning there's an increased risk of very high power prices in 2025 because of a drop in gas forecasts and coal stockpiles. The grid owner says peak capacity risks will persist this year until there is more investment in sources of flexible electricity generation - such as via batteries or 'demand management' when users reduce electricity consumption. The EA's proposal would require lines companies to pay a rebate when consumers supply electricity back to the grid. The complaint up to now from those with solar is they receive less for the electricity they generate, than what they are charged for what they take in off the grid. The authority is taking submissions until March 25. Rewiring Aotearoa chief executive Mike Casey is praising the authority for the move but says it needs to go further. Tracey Kai, chief executive at Electricity Networks Aotearoa, has concerns the move is beneficial to those who can afford solar systems. 

09:25 Science ed funding cuts bite: 'children missing out'

Science advocates say thousands of children around the country are missing out on important science education as funding cuts for outreach programmes bite. The last government cut spending on the Unlocking Curious Minds fund - administered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Ministry. 14 projects around the country were funded last year at a cost of $1.6 million. The last of that funding is now running out - and programmes are shutting down, including Otago Museum's Tūhura Tuarangi Showcase. It has been travelling the country for the last two and a half years, with a hands-on interactive science programme which more than 130,000 have experienced in schools , marae, libraries and community centres. Kathryn speaks with Otago Museum senior science engagement coordinator Dr Andrew Mills, and Dr Lucy Stewart, co-president of the Association of Scientists.

09:45 Middle East correspondent Sebastian Usher reports from Tel Aviv 

Middle East correspondent Sebastian Usher covers the latest on the fragile ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went ahead on Saturday after teetering on the brink of collapse.

Sebastian Usher is a BBC Middle East analyst, editor and reporter.

10:05 Left Write Hook: How a boxing and writing programme helps abuse survivors

A trauma-informed boxing course in Melbourne is helping women who've survived sexual abuse reclaim their bodies and rewrite their stories. Left Write Hook was founded by Donna Lyon - who was herself a survivor of abuse. She'd turned to boxing as a way to channel her anger - but instead discovered its power as a mindfulness practice. She gets participants in the programme to write about their trauma and how it affects them, read to each other in a group before they dive into boxing with a qualified coach. Left Write Hook is now the subject of a documentary of the same name, following one group through the life-changing programme. As well as starring in the documentary, Donna also produced it --she's a filmmaker and academic at the University of Melbourne's Victorian College of the Arts. She tells Kathryn it's been a long journey to the premiere of the film.

10:35 Book review: Poutini: The Ngai Tahu History of the West Coast by Paul Madgwick 

Harry Broad reviews Poutini: The Ngāi Tahu History of the West Coast by Paul Madgwick published by Oratia Books

10:45 Around the motu: Amy Williams in Auckland

Amy updates us on the latest in Tāmaki Makaurau including the upcoming announcement of the first candidate in the mayoralty race, controversy over puppy yoga, Auckland Capital Valuations have been delayed, and developers are racing to get consents in before contribution rates rise.

Amy Williams is a RNZ senior reporter on Auckland issues.

11:05 Political commentators Ben Thomas and Sue Moroney 

Ben Thomas is a former National government press secretary, a columnist and a director of public affairs firm Capital.

Sue Moroney is a former MP with the Labour Party and now chief executive of Community Law Centres Aotearoa. 

11:30 Growing kūmara in the country's only traditional Māori garden

Hamilton gardens are home to the country's only traditional productive Māori garden - Te Parapara - where everything is done as it was pre-European settlement, including the food that is grown. Head gardener Alice Gwilliam tells Kathryn Ryan about how the garden is grown. She's worked on it for 20 years - and helped establish it when it opened to the the public in 2010.

11:45 Urban Issues with Tim Welch 

Slower trains and faster cars. Tim Welch discusses Auckland's rail closures and the lifting of speed limits on roads. Tim is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland.