Nine To Noon

Louise O'Brien reviews The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid, published by Penguin Random House.

Vidyamala Burch is a UK-based New Zealander whose mindfulness programme for chronic pain and other illnesses has just earned her an OBE. Through her own experience of extreme pain which began in her teens, she eventually developed the programme which is now recognised by the NHS and has reached over 100,000 people. She is an honorary membership from The British Pain Society, the author of three books and co-founder of Breathworks, an organisation which teaches her mindfulness-based approach to pain, illness and stress.

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton joins Kathryn to talk about Prime Minister Anthony Albanese flagging a formal inquiry into his predecessor's five secret ministerial portfolios. Yesterday advice from the Solicitor-General was released, saying while it was lawful it contravened the convention of responsible government. She'll also talk about singer John Farnham's surgery for cancer, some Wallabies' objections to the suggestion scrums should have a 60-second time limit and a Canberra judge dismissed a "too busy" excuse from tennis star Nick Kyrgios in seeking to delay an appearance over an assault charge.

A leading biofuels scientist is backing the government's plan to require the use of biofuels in petrol and diesel from next April. All fuel will be legally required to contain a percentage of biofuel, made from renewable sources such as used vegetable oils or animal fats. Some environmental advocates have labelled the plan "greenwashing", saying New Zealand cannot possibly source enough of the right kind of waste to make the amount of biofuel that will be required to meet the mandate, and that importing biofuel will be damaging to the global environment. Dr Paul Bennett is chair of the International Energy Agency for Bioenergy and Portfolio Leader for Integrated Bioenergy with Scion Research. He says New Zealand has considerable science expertise in biofuels and researchers have made a number of advancements in liquid biofuels and bioenergy.

An independent inquiry is to be held in Australia into the secret ministerial roles adopted by former prime minister Scott Morrison. Mr Morrison appointed himself to five senior government portfolios, including health; finance; treasury and home affairs; and industry, science and resources -- between 2020 and 2021, mostly without the knowledge of the ministers who held each role. Australia's solicitor general has concluded that the appointments were valid and lawful, but violated the principles of responsible government. Mr Morrison's successor, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, announced the inquiry yesterday saying Mr Morrison's actions undermined democracy. George William is a Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales, specialising in constitutional law - he's with me now from Sydney.

The country's two main supermarket chains Countdown and Foodstuffs could soon be forced to open their wholesale operations to smaller rivals. The government is expected to make an announcement later today. It would be the latest tranche of reforms following an investigation by the Commerce Commission into the supermarket sector. The Commission made a number of recommendations, and since then, the Government has already announced plans to introduce a code of conduct and a Grocery Commissioner who will have the ability to fine supermarkets who breach it. It has also recommended ending anti-competitive land wars between the big players. Kathryn speaks with the Food and Grocery Council CEO, Katherine Rich, and Sarah Balle, founder of Supie, an online grocery store.

The Hamilton West MP Gaurav Sharma says he has been expelled by the Labour caucus. Dr Sharma was suspended from the caucus last week for what it says were his repeated breaches of trust. The Labour caucus has just met, Dr Sharma was there. He's just spoken with reporters at parliament. RNZ political reporter Katie Scotcher was there.

Liz talks to Kathryn about whether now is the right time to buy a home and what it means when you have negative equity in your house or apartment. Liz Koh is a money expert. This discussion is of a general nature, and does not constitute financial advice.

Supporters of the Freedoms and Rights Coalition - associated with Destiny Church - are marching through central Wellington to Parliament where they will rally. Along the way, theyt are passing a counter protest at the Cenotaph. RNZ reporter Hamish Cardwell has been following the march.

Social Anthropologist and Museum Ethnographer Dr Paul Tapsell talks to Kathryn about how connection to ancestral marae relates to indigenous wellbeing, and also the pathways to connecting and belonging to iwi. He founded the digital web service Maori maps.com to help urban-raised Maori youth reconnect.