Nine To Noon

09:05 Retirement Village law overhaul : does it go far enough?

The biggest overhaul of retirement village laws in two decades was announced yesterday - promising clearer rules, stronger protections for residents and a 12 month deadline for operators to repay residents or their families, once they have left the village. Also promised - Interest will accrue after six months, weekly fees will stop immediately, and residents will be able to seek early access to funds in cases of hardship. An independent complaints resolution scheme will also be introduced.  However critics say the 12 month time frame for repayment is still too long, existing residents aren't covered and the legislation won't be introduced until mid next year - and therefore is still too far away.Meanwhile some operators say the changes will have a chilling effect on new developments. The Retirement Commission and Consumer NZ, alongside residents groups - have been leading the calls for change. Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson and Consumer NZ CEO Jon Duffy join Susie.

09:20 Record number of new listings hit rental market

The number of rental properties on the market has climbed to an 18 month high, according to the online listings platform realestate.co.nz. 7,253 more properties are on the market compared with this time last year - a 17-point-4 percent increase. Despite this the average rental price per week has had minimal movement over the same time period. Sarah Wood is the chief executive of realestate.co.nz.

09:35 Assessments start of damage from Tongariro National Park fire

The Tongariro fire earlier this month left nearly 3,000 hectares of the national park's special alpine ecosystem scorched and raised fears for the area's biodiversity. Work is due to get underway in just over a week to begin to to assess the damage, with Department of Conservation staff looking at  sensitive habitats such as wetlands. The world heritage area is home to threatened species such as orchids and moths and butterflies.  While it's hoped birds were able to fly out of the danger zone, for ground living animals, such as lizards, it is a different story. Jess Scrimgeour is a Department of Conservation ecologist and biodiversity advisor - who is based in Turangi.

09:45 Pacific: Tonga election, landslide in Tahiti & reaction to World Cup draw

Almost two weeks after Tonga's general election, four MPs are being floated as potential candidates for prime minister. Earlier this week, the 26 elected representatives were invited to put forward their choice of prime minister. Head of RNZ Pacific, journalist Moera Tuilaepa with the latest from the region.

10:05 Genre-defying, Grammy-winning soprano Julia Bullock

Julia Bullock is a Grammy Award-winning American classical soprano who'll be performing in New Zealand early next year as part of the Auckland Arts Festival. She's been described as "genre-defying" - at home with classical opera, spiritual, popular and new music.  Early on in her career she was compared to the singer and activist Josephine Baker; it led Julia to create a tribute project to her, inspired by Baker's experience as a Black performer navigating prejudice. Julia travels the world working with various composers and orchestras - it'll be the turn of the Auckland Philharmonia  in March, conducted by German artist Christian Reif, who also happens to be Julia's husband. The  pair worked on Julia's first solo album Walking in the Dark - he playing the piano in the piece we just heard there. It netted them the Grammy two years ago for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.

Julia Bullock makes her only Aotearoa appearance with an exclusive evening of magnetic presence and technical precision, led by visionary conductor Christian Reif. Saturday 7 March, at Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall, as part of the Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival. Tickets are on sale now.

10:30 Medical drone trial a success, what next?

A drone successfully delivered medical supplies to a remote island in the Western Bay of Plenty last week. The first medical drone delivery done in New Zealand is part of a trial between drone company VertiLink, the University of Auckland and Ngāi Te Rangi Iwi. Last Thursday, the drone left Omokoroa at 10:45am -with a full load of trauma treatment equipment - and arrived at a simulated emergency at Te Kutaroa Marae on Matakana Island in less than 4 minutes. VertiLink chief executive Charlie Nelson says this is a groundbreaking milestone - and the quick responsiveness of the drone could save lives among the island's 500 residents.

10:35 Book review: Queen Esther by John Irving

Lisa Adler of Unity Books Wellington reviews Queen Esther by John Irving, published by Simon & Schuster.

10:45 Around the motu: Kereama Wright reports on Whakatāne

Kereama discusses a local rahui on collection of seafood, Whakatane's major Nándor Tánczos on government plans to restrict rates increases and a local school struggling with vandalism and break-ins.

11:05 Music reviewer Jeremy Taylor

Jeremy Taylor from Slowboat Records plays a brand new track from The Phoenix Foundation, new music from Dijon, who has co-produced Bon Iver and Justin Beiber, and UK born soulful singer-songwriter Rochelle Jordan.

11:30 Sports commentator Sam Ackerman

Sam discusses a big week for Liam Lawson, the All Blacks World Cup draw, Black Caps, Ashes and the A-League derby. 

11:45 The week that was

Comedians Pinky Agnew and Donna Brookbanks bring some of the lighter stories of the past week, including the latest stats on how many butter chickens New Zealanders ordered  on Uber Eats in the past year.