Nine To Noon for Thursday 12 June 2025

09:05 The pluses and minuses of 12 month prescriptions  

From next year, patients will be able to get prescriptions covering 12 months, rather than the current three. Announcing the move, the Health Minister Simeon Brown said it would put money in patients' pockets as they wouldn't have to pay for long term medications four times a year, and reduce GPs' paperwork. But GPs have raised concerns that patient safety could be at risk and that recommendations to extend the prescribing period to six months were ignored. Pharmacists say there will be benefits for some patients, but also funding implications, an increased chance of wastage and misunderstandings over those medicines not included, such as controlled drugs. Luke Bradford is the Medical Director of the Royal College of New Zealand GPs and  Andrew Gaudin is the chief executive of the Pharmacy Guild.

09:20 The push to power farms by solar

The Energy Minister Simon Watts has launched the Solar on Farms initiative at Fieldays - with plans for tools and data to be made available as well as moves to make financing these products easier. ASB Bank is offering interest free loans up to $150,000 over 5 years. It comes as joint venture company Farmlands Flex adds its launch of a software product that will help connect solar systems to batteries and the grid. Farmlands Flex chief executive is Andrew Pegler and Becks Smith is founder of Solayer - a company installing solar systems on farm. 

09:35  Are we wasting an opportunity to capitalise on our waste?

The size of New Zealand's waste problem - and how much it's costing us - has been laid bare in a new report. It shows we rank among the highest producers of waste and consumers of material in the OECD - some 28 tonnes of material per capita in 2022. But we're among the lowest when it comes to what we do with it. The overall waste sector contributes $3.3 billion to the economy - but waste inefficiencies are costing us over $220 million a year in avoidable disposal costs. The report was commissioned by industry body WasteMINZ and undertaken by the NZIER - New Zealand Institute for Economic Research. Kathryn digs into it with WasteMINZ's CEO Nic Quilty and report author Roshen Kulwant.

09:45 UK: Spending review, Israel criticism, Gibraltar deal

UK correspondent Harriet Line joins Kathryn to detail Chancellor Rachel Reeve's spending plans - with major cash injections for the NHS and defence. Britain has, along with New Zealand, been criticised by the US for sanctioning two Israeli ministers over alleged 'egregious abuses' of human rights in Gaza. And the UK has reached a long-awaited deal with the EU over Gibraltar's border with Spain.

Harriet Line is Deputy Political Editor of the Daily Mail.

10:05 Sherpas' life-threatening missions to retrieve climbers from Everest's Death Zone    

More than 300 climbers have perished attempting to summit the earth's pinnacle, Mount Everest and at least 200 bodies remain on the mountain, frozen where they fell. A third of the dead are Sherpas.  Sherpas refer to Everest as "Chomolungma" or  "Mother Goddess of the World" They believe the mountain has become angry - that there has been too much death, and the mountain has been desecrated.  Now a new movie has documented the quest of world-renowned mountaineer Mingma Tsiri Sherpa, in his life-threatening journey to retrieve fallen climbers from Everest's Death Zone. 'Everest Dark' follows the effort to reclaim the sacred mountain from decades of exploitation. The movie was written, directed and produced by Michael Bodnarchuk and Jereme Watt who join Kathryn Ryan.

10:30 On the ground at Fieldays: Tractor manufacturer Case IH

It's day two at Fieldays - where organisers expect as many as 100-thousand people to come through the event. One of the big exhibitors - with multiple tractors on display is American tractor manufacturer Case IH. David Knowles is sales manager at Case IH and is at Fieldays.

10:35 Book review: The Tear Bottle: A Graphic Story of Love and Things by Annemarie Jutel

Elizabeth Heritage reviews The Tear Bottle: A Graphic Story of Love and Things by Annemarie Jutel, self-published

10:45 Around the motu: Piers Fuller in Wairarapa

The four-lane Te Ahu a Turanga highway has officially opened surpassing motorists' expectations, short term free travel for Wairarapa train line passengers has been floated as an idea to alleviate their frustration, Easy access to illegal guns is worrying community leaders, and Greytown's giant gum tree is a finalist in the NZ Tree of the Year competition.

Piers Fuller is the Editor of the Wairarapa Times-Age, based in Masterton.

11:05 How technology can help improve access to justice

Tech commentator Alex Sims discusses access to justice, and how technology might improve it. She'll look at how the legal process can be lengthy and costly, and provide global examples of tools that have been created to help guide people through processes - like how to challenge parking tickets, or file the relevant files with the right court.

Alex Sims is a Professor in the Department of Commercial Law at the University of Auckland Business School and an expert on blockchain technology, copyright law and consumer law.

11:25 Bedtime: how to get your kids to bed without nightly drama

Parenting educator Michelle Mitchell talks about how to avoid drama at bedtime. She says sleep is the cornerstone of kids' (and adults') health and she shares practical strategies to take the battle out of bedtime.

11:45 Screentime: Code of Silence, Ocean with David Attenborough, Dangerous Animals

Film and TV reviewer Tamar Munch joins Kathryn to talk about new British thriller Code of Silence (TVNZ+), about a deaf woman who helps police with her lip reading skills. Ocean with David Attenborough (in cinemas and on Disney+) looks at the importance of the ocean and the challenges faced by marine life. And Dangerous Animals (cinemas) is an Australian horror film...with sharks.