Nine To Noon for Thursday 4 September 2025

09:05 Former High Court judge details concerns about judiciary

Too few judges, high workloads and stress, not enough court rooms and fewer lawyers offering legal aid. These are some of the concerns highlighted in the Chief Justice's annual report, released yesterday. Dame Helen Winkelman says the judiciary is under considerable stress. She says access to justice is a cornerstone of a fair society but this is being erroded in places. Former Crown Solicitor and High Court judge for 14 years, now Chair of the Electoral Commission, Justice Simon Moore, says the report should be taken seriously.

09:20 Households, businesses face gas connection conundrum

Households and businesses in Auckland wanting to disconnect their piped gas could face higher fees to do so. But if they leave the meter and pipes in place, they could still face a daily charge by their energy providers.  The Auckland gas lines owner Vector says from next month it is changing its pricing for permanent gas disconnections 'to enable full cost recovery' when someone wants the gas infrastructure taken off their property. The cost ranges from $750 to $ 2,500. To compare, in Wellington it costs $1500 for a disconnection, while in Wairarapa it is about $700. In a recent case Utilities Disputes says it had to intervene when a business was quoted $7500 to remove a gas connection. After a negotiation the charge was brought down to about $1000. With high gas prices and limited retailer options for consumers, many are weighing up what to do with their gas connection. Electrification advocates say moving to appliances like heat pumps are more efficient and cheaper. Gas NZ chief executive Jeffrey Clarke says there is still a case for keeping gas connections. 

09:30 The charity training teachers on the job in desperately needed subjects

The education sector has been getting a shake up of late, with changes pending to the curriculum and qualifications - but it doesn't seem to have dented interest in the teaching profession. New figures show there's been 3525 new enrolments by domestic students to initial teacher training so far this year - a 30 percent surge. Auckland-based charity Teach First NZ has been on a mission for over a decade now to put teachers into the hardest areas of the profession to staff. Since the programme began thirteen years ago, it's pumped out nearly 500 teachers - half in the desperately-needed STEM subjects and in schools in low-income communities. Kathryn speaks with Angelo Tedoldi, who has a PhD in neuroscience and went through the programme in 2022. Teach First NZ's CEO is Liam Munday, and explains the programme's benefits.

09:45 UK: Deputy PM in hot water over house tax, Farage likens UK to North Korea

UK correspondent Dan Bloom joins Kathryn to talk about deputy PM and housing secretary Angela Rayner's admission that she underpaid stamp duty when buying an £800,000 flat. Will it damage the government? Meanwhile Britain's borrowing has hit a 27-year high three months out from chancellor Rachel Reeves' Budget and Reform leader Nigel Farage is touring America, where he's claimed Britain's free speech is the same as North Korea's.

Dan Bloom is Political Editor of Politico UK

10:05 The CIA after the Cold War - and how it's faring under Donald Trump

For decades it had tried to oppose and undermine Soviet Union - but the end of the Cold War left the CIA in a challenging position. Budgets were cut, stations were closed and nearly five thousand personnel with decades of experience had walked out the door. Then came 9/11 and the so-called "War on Terror": America's spy agency was about to be supercharged. Kathryn's guest is Pulitzer-prize winning author Tim Weiner. He's written six books, including Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA, but that work canvassed the period of the agency's creation in 1947 to the turn of the millennium and was published just as the CIA's roles in rendition and torture were being laid bare. He's turned his attention to the CIA's actions in the first quarter of this century - right up to the return of Donald Trump as President. It's called The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century and is extraordinarily detailed, with extremely candid interviews with current and former CIA employees.

10:30 Jump in number of people being deported 

New figures released by Immigration New Zealand show the number of people being deported from New Zealand has gone up by almost a quarter in the last financial year to the end of June. 1,259 people in the country illegally were deported or chose to leave after being served a deportation order - an increase of 352 from the previous year. Immigration has also estimated that about 21 thousand people are here who have overstayed their visa. It's the first time Immigration has released such figures in 8 years. At the same time this morning, the Immigration Minister, Erica Stanford, has announced the government is proposing to strengthen deportation provisions. She says the move is necessary to ensure the system can act decisively when serious breaches occur. Steve Watson, the General Manager of Immigration Compliance and Investigations talks to Kathryn about the increase. 

10:35 Book review: Empathy by Bryan Walpert

Stella Chrysostomou reviews Empathy by Bryan Walpert, published by Mākaro Press.    

10:45 Around the motu: Kirsty Pickett in Te Anau

Kirsty discusses local anger over the removal of native birds from a local bird sanctuary, a new agri-tourism business is due to open and the redevelopment of a local playground gets the tick of approval from local children. 

Kirsty Pickett  is co owner of the Southland App based in Te Anau, covering Southland and Fiordland, Southlandapp.nz 

11:05 Tech: AI Slop, Open AI sued over suicide linked to ChatGPT

Technology commentator Mark Pesce looks at how generative AI is creating more and more videos - but is it being almost weaponised and targeted against us? OpenAI is being sued after a 16 year old in the US killed himself after being encouraged by ChatGPT. Where does the role and responsibility of AI companies begin and end if they're used for emotional support? And Mark will be delivering the opening keynote address at next week's Canterbury Tech Summit. Details here. 

Mark Pesce is a futurist, writer, educator and broadcaster

11:25 From player of the day to dux - the pros and cons of handing out awards to children

What are the pros and cons of handing out awards to children? From player of the day in sport, to winner of the spelling bee, to Dux of the school. Dr Elise Waghorn is a Lecturer at R-M-I-T University's School of Education in Melbourne. She says while awards can reward effort, they can also be unhelpful and lead to a fixed mind set in children.

11:45 Screentime: The Buccaneers, Little Disasters, The Roses

Film and TV reviewer Perlina Lau joins Kathryn to talk about the second season of The Buccaneers (Apple TV), which features a group of young American women who take on the London aristocracy in the 1870s - one for lovers of The Gilded Age and Bridgerton. Little Disasters (TVNZ) stars Diane Kruger as a mother whose best friend and A+E nurse calls social services on her over her baby's head injury. And The Roses is a satirical black comedy starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Coleman - but does it measure up to the 1989 film The War of the Roses?

Perlina Lau is co-host of RNZ's Culture 101 programme