The SME Stream

The Prime Minister reminisces about his t-shirt faux pas from last year’s barbecue, before discussing the free trade agreement with India.

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New Zealand loves to boast about its clean, green energy story. With around 80 to 90% of grid electricity coming from renewable sources like hydro, wind and geothermal, we look like one of the world’s quiet success cases on decarbonisation.

But beneath that headline number lies a much more precarious reality. When lake levels fall and gas supplies tighten, our energy system starts to look very exposed.​

In the latest episode of The Business of Tech, I sit down with Melissa Reynolds‑Clarke and Daniel Gnoth from Ara Ake, the national centre for energy innovation, to explore how we can lean on innovation to navigate this emerging energy crunch.

The conversation ranges from process heat in dairy factories and meat plants that still run on coal and gas, to the growing risk that international customers will turn away from products that are not backed by genuinely low‑emissions energy.​

Ara Ake sits in the “valley of death” for new technology – that tough space between promising lab results and commercial deployment. Daniel explains how the organisation supports everything from fusion “moonshots” and hydrogen‑electric aircraft trials, to more grounded projects like battery storage at Wellington’s CentrePort, rural microgrids, and ultra‑cheap hot water control that effectively turns our cylinders into a giant, flexible battery. Melissa, drawing on decades in the rural sector and on energy company boards, highlights the brutal realities facing farmers and manufacturers who need affordable, reliable energy today, even as they’re pushed to decarbonise for tomorrow’s markets.​

We dig into some of the most promising levers for fast impact – smarter use of flexibility on the grid, re‑using old oil and gas wells in Taranaki for deep geothermal heat, and new business models that make technologies like biodigesters and community batteries actually stack up in a country of small, dispersed farms and towns. We also talk frankly about the capital gap that still exists between startup and scale‑up, and why system‑wide thinking across regulation, networks, and markets, matters just as much as shiny new tech.​

If you want to understand what New Zealand’s energy transition really looks like on the ground, and where innovation can genuinely move the dial, this episode is for you. Streaming on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts. 

Show notes

Who builds NZ’s LNG terminal? The two names being floated - BusinessDesk

New liquefied natural gas terminal: 'Vital' or 'bonkers'? - RNZ

Why the new LNG terminal could raise, not lower, your power bill - Newsroom

Ryan Bridge: The Taranaki LNG terminal is a good idea, depending on who you ask - NewstalkZB

Second interim boss appointed at Ara Ake as work continues to find next CEO - The Post

Energy research centre Ara Ake secures $70 million in funding to support innovation - Stuff

Ara Ake Impact Report 2025 - Ara Ake

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CEO Naomi James joins us to discuss leading a critical reset for Ryman Healthcare. The healthcare and property hybrid holds over $12 billion in assets, but the post-covid era has exposed its over-reliance on the housing market. 

In this episode, Naomi reveals Ryman’s big shifts to achieve its first positive free cash flow in over a decade—and the tough calls along the way, including closing care centres and resetting the balance sheet. 

With the 80-plus population set to double by 2050, is our healthcare system ready for the Baby Boomers? What’s happening with urgent aged care funding reforms, and what can we learn from Australia? Naomi talks about balancing resident outcomes and shareholder returns, and why a well-functioning retirement sector is foundational to the entire public health system. 

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Consumer NZ expects power prices to increase by about 5% this year. 

It’s after households were already hit with a 12% increase to power bills last year. 

But what does that all mean? Will it make winter that much colder? Will we have to cut back on groceries? Will people be able to afford the increase? 

Today on The Front Page, Consumer NZ’s Powerswitch Manager Paul Fuge is with us to break down why power companies pass on steep network hikes, and what households can do. 

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Chelsea Daniels
Editor/Producer: Richard Martin
Producer: Jane Yee

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Marama Davidson and David Seymour debate retail crime, new LNG terminal and poll results.

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Forsyth Barr's Mark Richardson on common investing mistakes.

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Minister of Justice says the group was effective in reducing retail crime throughout New Zealand.

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The Labour leader on the India Free Trade Agreement, which he calls a "botched process by the government".

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New Zealand's ability to cope in the current geopolitical landscape is set to be the hot topic at the Economics Forum this week.  

Leading economists, business leaders, and public sector officials are gathering at Waikato University's Management School to talk economic priorities, challenges, and opportunities.  

Former Finance Minister Steven Joyce told Mike Hosking they'll discuss the benefits of MMP and the influence of big players like the US.  

He says they'll explore how the modern political world encourages nations to think tribally, and how social media is influencing people to think this way. 

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