Nine To Noon for Wednesday 26 February 2025

09:05 Inaugural advisor's final plea to appoint an independent victims commissioner 

The country's outgoing Chief Victims Advisor says the Government must appoint an independent commissioner - and the safety of victims needs to be taken more seriously. Dr Kim McGregor is the country's inaugural advisor - appointed in 2015 and reappointed three times - with her tenure ending on December 10 last year. When she started there were no work programmes or reports into victims' experiences in the justice system. Now, 17 reports, and nine years later, she leaves the role which has been taken on by Ruth Money. Dr McGregor has worked with victim survivors for over 35 years, and is one herself. She says - finally - the foundations are there, but there is a still a lot that needs to be done to make the justice system better for victims. Kim joins Kathryn in the Wellington studio.

09: 20  Breeding climate-friendly cows

Dairy herds in New Zealand contribute just under half of New Zealand's agricultural livestock emissions, which in turn make up about half of  New Zealand's overall emissions, according to Dairy NZ. But a livestock company is making progress in breeding animals that carry traits for lower methane emissions. Livestock Improvement Corporation, or LIC, working with breeding company CRV, has proved that bulls with lower methane producing traits do pass those characteristics  on to their daughters. Scientists at LIC say they hope to be able to contribute 5 to 15 per cent towards New Zealand's 2050 emissions reduction target. Dr Richard Spelman, LIC's Chief Scientist, joins Kathryn to discuss the next stage in the breeding programme.

09:30 Sight Unseen: Doco series about vision-impaired Kiwis that makes the visual verbal

A new show for young blind or low vision people about young blind or low vision people - is set to give the wider audience a taste of how they experience such programming. The five-part series is called Sight Unseen and it aims to make the visual verbal, with audio descriptions that are a fixture - rather than an option - of each episode. Some 180,000 Kiwis are vision impaired and can benefit from audio description. The show's been created in conjunction with Able, which is the main organisation in the country making media accessible. The show's hosted by Ari Kerssens - who lost most of his sight at age 19 - and directed by Sheldene Seth. They join Kathryn to talk about how the series was put together.

09:45 Australia: Chinese games, election guesses, spider drive

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton looks at the pressure Australian officials are coming under to explain why it was a Virgin airline pilot who alerted the Australian and New Zealand governments to a live-fire exercise by China in the Tasman sea. The stake out begins at Government House for hints of when an election date can be set, amateur spider catches are wanted to help trap deadly funnel web spiders for an antivenom drive and what happens in Vegas...doesn't stay there. Two Canberra Raiders players have apologised for a hotel fracas involving an inflatable baseball bat.

Karen Middleton is political editor of the Guardian Australia

10:05 Alpaca illness and a stolen election: Duncan Sarkies

A political thriller, set within New Zealand's Alpaca Breeders' Organisation, might not be the most obvious premise for a novel. But it is the setting for Duncan Sarkies' latest work, Star Gazers. The story follows a cast of alpaca breeders, each entangled in their own struggles. Willemijn, the local vet, is determined to expose corruption in the latest breeders' election. Caroline, a newcomer to the industry, is desperate to prove herself to top breeder Shona Tisdall, who profits from selling a mysterious vitamin to fellow breeders. Meanwhile, the bumbling Alpaca News team fights to keep their publication afloat while ensuring the breeders stay informed. But when alpacas begin dying under strange circumstances- each animal gazing at the stars before suddenly collapsing - the stakes rise, and a battle for the truth unfolds. Star Gazers is the latest addition to Duncan Sarkies' works. It is his third novel, following the acclaimed debut Two Little Boys, which found success in the UK and became a film. 

10:30 New emergency responder network: expert advice from US network architect

As New Zealand moves to a new emergency responder network, the man who led the USA rollout of the First Responder Network Authority speaks about how it held up during the recent LA fires. TJ Kennedy is on the board of the NZ organisation setting up the system here - Next Generation Critical Communications. He is a former state trooper, firefighter, and flight paramedic.

10:35 Book review: Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey 

Lisa Finucane reviews Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey published by Hachette

10:45 Around the motu: Alisha Evans in Tauranga

Tauranga’s mayor Mahé Drysdale is still not living in the city he leads because he can’t find a home in his desired school zone. The controversial sale of the council owned marine precinct remains on ice after a high court hearing on Tuesday. Guidelines have been set for how shares in the Port of Tauranga will be sold with regional council hoping to keep ownership local. 

Tauranga based Local Democracy Reporter Alisha Evans has all the details.

11:05 Music with Charlotte Ryan

Charlotte joins Kathryn to play the new collaboration between Marlon Williams and Lorde which has been released today. Also a track from Perfume Genius featuring Aldous Harding.

Charlotte Ryan is host of Music 101 on RNZ National.

11:20 What was New Zealand like 200 years ago?

 Historian Jock Phillips looks back 200 years, to 1825, when Pakeha numbered 500, and Maori 100,000. This week is the 200th anniversary of Hongi Hika setting off from the Bay of Islands to lead his Ngā Puhi people against Ngāti Whatua in one of the most bloody and significant battles of the so-called 'Musket Wars'.

11:45 Science: Asteroid Bennu's life building blocks + YR4 Earth strike odds double

Science correspondent Allan Blackman joins Kathryn to talk about what samples of the asteroid Bennu reveal about the building blocks of life on Earth. Meanwhile the odds of 'city killer' asteroid  2024 YR4 striking Earth have doubled. And research from NZ's NIWA has revealed a significant trend in the atmosphere's self-cleansing ability.

Allan Blackman is a Professor of Chemistry, School of Science, Auckland University of Technology