Nine To Noon

09:05 Law expert on election voting changes 

On Election Day 2023, 110,000 people enrolled or updated their details, a process that won't be possible in next year's election under changes proposed by the Government. This would reverse a change introduced in 2020, but the Government intends to go further. People wouldn't be able to enrol or update, for the entire early voting period, which would be the 12-days leading into election day. Other changes include making the provision of food, drink, or entertainment within 100 metres of a voting place punishable by a fine of up to $ 10,000. Constitutional law expert. Graeme Edgeler speaks to Kathryn. 

09:20 Proposed changes to forestry rules and the on-going problems of silt and slash    

Parts of Tasman and Marlborough are still digging out from the silt that swept through homes and farms in the double whammy of two flood events. Areas were also swamped by mud and rivers barricaded with woody debris during Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023, leading the government to amend the slash management rules under the  National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry. Now submissions are just days away from closing on more proposed changes with the government saying the earlier amendments have proved costly and not fit for purpose. . The new proposal amends and repeals a number of provisions. The New Zealand Forest Owners Association says proposed reforms will go some way in addressing the challenges forest owners face due to variable and unjustified local council rules. But experts argue the proposed changes fail to address the core reasons  for slash and sediment discharges. Kathryn is joined by Mark Bloomberg is an Adjunct Fellow at the New Zealand School of Forestry at Canterbury University and Elizabeth Heeg the New Zealand Forest Owners Association chief executive

09:30 New podcast aims to help young songwriters break into a difficult industry

A new podcast series aims to help young songwriters break into the music industry. On The Record With Rei is produced by Play It Strange - an organisation which provides secondary school aged musicians with guidance. Across ten episodes, the podcast contains practical advice for getting songs played on the radio, artist wellbeing, and making the most of studio time, and using social media, amongst other things. Play It Strange CEO Stephanie Brown and artist PAIGE, who talks through how to use social media to promote her music and connect with fans in episode five, speak to Kathryn. 

On The Record with Rei is available on Spotify, Rova and YouTube, and online on Instagram and TikTok. 

09:45 Asia correspondent Elizabeth Beattie

Taiwan is gearing up for a politically-charged recall vote, political turmoil in Japan and a man is arrested in India on suspicion of running a fake embassy near Delhi.

Elizabeth is a journalist based in Tokyo

10:05 Young Auckland women leaders on a journey 

Kathryn meets two young Auckland women named in the YWCA's Y25 young leaders for 2025. Laya Rasooli came to New Zealand age 18, fleeing Afghanistan. She's now doing a Masters in Architecture at AUT, is an artist and works in her family's events business, as well as mentoring and coaching new migrants. Tupou Neiufi grew up in Mangere  - at age two, she was hit by a speeding car and left in a coma.She's now 23 and a paralympic swimming champion - who works as a support person in the disability sector, and is proud to be one of the few Pacific people in competitive swimming. The two are among this year's cohort of young leaders named by the YWCA this week.

10:35 Book review: Ruins by Amy Taylor

Laura Caygill reviews Ruins by Amy Taylor, published by Allen & Unwin

10:45 Around the motu: Lee Scanlon reports from Westport

Lee discusses the interest, or lack of it, from potential candidates in the upcoming local elections, particularly for the West Coast Regional Council.  She checks in on progress with  protection work four years after devastating Westport floods and Buller District Council's awarding wining master plan.

11:05 New music with Grant Smithies

Talking Heads' groundbreaking 1978 album More Songs About Buildings And Food gets an expanded global reissue today. We'll hear two key tracks from the original LP today, followed by some hazy pop from New Brighton's Blair Parkes/ Miss Mercury and some Whanganui-meets-Jamaica dancehall from Naram and Tippa Lee. 

11:30 Sports commentator Dana Johanssen

Dana previews netball's ANZ Premiership grand final this weekend between the Tactix and the Mystics. The Black Ferns world cup squad is named this afternoon, Sport NZ's has made an announcement over guidelines on transgender participation in sport and the first woman to sign with the UFC.

11:45 The week that was with Te Radar and Elisabeth  Easther

Comedians Te Radar and Elisabeth Easther chew over the funnier stories of the week, including a British fitness influencer who fled her luxury Bali holiday after just two days, because it "didn't look like it did on social media."