Nine To Noon for Tuesday 8 July 2025

09:05 Call for government to overhaul costly standards system

They're the numbers that rule our lives, but the price of them is about to rise. Standards New Zealand last week told customers that the price of standards - agreed specifications for products, processes or, services - will be raised by 12.5 percent. That's concerning Engineering New Zealand, which says the user-pays funding model has resulted in a system that's led to an "unacceptable number" of standards being outdated or not there at all. Kathryn speaks to Richard Templer, CEO of Engineering New Zealand about why his organisation wants the government to review how the system is working.

09:20 Insurance and emergency management partnership put to test 

The insurance industry's new information sharing partnership was put to the test just days after it was signed, with the recent floods in Nelson Tasman. The deal - called the Natural Hazards Resilience Partnership - was announced by NEMA, the Natural Hazards Commission (formerly known as EQC) and the Insurance Council, which represents insurance companies. It sought to improve the practicalities - particularly in the early stages of a large scale event - of making sure the right information was being shared with the right people in order to make the recovery and insurance process as streamlined and as quick as possible. Just days after the agreement was publicised, flooding events in Malborough and Nelson/Tasman put that partnership to the test. The Insurance Council's chief executive is Kris Faafoi.

09:35 Diverting old car bumpers from landfill, into fenceposts

Had a fender-bender? You're not alone.  Around 115,000 new and used bumpers are replaced annually across New Zealand, with many destined for the landfill at their end or life. But now the Motor Trade Association of New Zealand has developed a new programme, called plastic2eco, where the bumpers are re-purposed as fencing products by Waiuku recycling business Future Post. The plan is to expand into Hamilton, New Plymouth, and other Auckland suburbs, before being rolled out across the North Island later this year and into the South Island around mid-2026. MTA sector manager is Larry Fallowfield.

09:45 USA correspondent David Smith

The latest from the floods in Texas, with at least 82 people dead. President Trump hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the latest Gaza hostage and a 60-day ceasefire deal hanging in the balance. David also discusses Elon Musk's new political party he will bankroll. 

10:05 Equipping teachers, parents and learners for our fast-changing world

Barbara Oakley, is a distinguished professor of engineering at Oakland University, Michigan. She is in New Zealand speaking to educators about neuroscience, psychology, artificial intelligence, neurodiversity and creativity. She aims to provide simple and practical tools for people who struggle with traditional approaches to learning. She is also working on a study into declining IQ scores in developed countries - linked to changing educational practices and the rise of "cognitive offloading" via AI and digital tools. 

10:35 Book review: Koro Wētā by Heather Haylock

Joanna Ludbrook from Chicken and Frog Bookshop reviews Koro Wētā by Heather Haylock, published by Oratia Books

10:45 Around the motu: John Freer in Coromandel

John discusses progress on  Local Water Done Well, tourism promotion in Coromandel and the chances of establishing a lake on  the Thames foreshore.

11:05 Business commentator Oli Lewis 

Lyttelton Port is making the case to its owner, the Christchurch City Council, to expand to meet growing demand. In Tauranga, the port there wants to double the cost to transfer a container to its Auckland terminal. The Scott Base redevelopment project director says poor performers in the infrastructure sector need to be called out. 

11:30 Rotorua war hero story told in new opera Mate Ururoa 

The true story of Rotorua soldier Captain Roger Dansey is being brought to life in Wellington Opera's performance Mate Ururoa. Written by acclaimed New Zealand composer Dame Gillian Whitehead, it tells the true story of Roger Ingram Te Kepa Dansey, engineer and Māori All Black, who enlisted when Britain declared war on Germany in 1914 and was one of the five hundred strong "Native Contingent". His war story is first about the humiliation faced by Māori soldiers, his heroism at Gallipoli, but then being accused of desertion and sent home in disgrace. Whitehead wrote the libretto in te reo Māori and English for US-based Māori baritone David Tahere, who plays Roger Dansey. Directed by Sara Brodie, the opera was originally supposed to premiere in 2021 at New York's Carnegie Hall - but this was cancelled due to the pandemic. Instead, the world premiere will be in Wellington this weekend. Dame Gillian Whitehead, Sara Brodie and David Tahere are in the Wellington studio.

11:45 Sports chat with Marc Hinton

The big takeaways from the first All Blacks test of the year, who impressed, and will there be changes for the second test in Wellington? The Warriors return to rugby league's NRLW; what was learned? Marc also has updates from Wimbledon, motorsport and basketball.
    
Stuff senior sports writer Marc Hinton