Nine To Noon for Wednesday 17 September 2025

09:05 Should KiwiSaver be split 50:50 when you get divorced?

Automatically splitting Kiwisaver 50-50 in separation agreements, is one of  the suggestions being put forward in a new report looking at how to fix the gender gap in retirement savings. The research has been compiled by consultancy firm, MartinJenkins, to support a Retirement Commission's Review of Retirement Income Policies. It says men's KiwiSaver balances are on average 25% higher than women's and the gap gets more significant with age. By the time women reach age 56 - 65, the gap widens to 37% gap. The report says the disparity is not all down to the pay gap, and identifies six stages of life where intervention could make a significant difference. Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson talks about the ways the disparities could be resolved.

09:20 Three terms is enough: Retiring mayor calls for limit on time on council

Should there be a limit on the number of terms a local council candidate can stand and serve?
Retiring Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate thinks so. She's calling it quits after two terms as mayor and thinks three consecutive terms is enough for anyone.

09:25 Should Fiordland Wapiti get special interest status?

Hunting groups want Wapiti in Fiordland cemented in law as a herd of special interest, while environmentalists say they are wrecking delicate native habitats. A proposal to make Wapiti in Fiorldand National Park a Herd of Special Interest was sent to the Hunting and Fishing Minister to consider, and it has now been debated at the Environment Select Committee. A report is due back at the end of next month. Wapiti is the second species to be put forward for HOSI status, following an application to make sika deer the same status in the Kaimanawa and Kaweka Forest Parks. Roy Sloan, general manager of the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation, has been leading the work managing Wapiti since 2005. Jesse Bythell is a member of the Plant Conservation Network, which has opposed the HOSI application.

09:45 Australia: Roblox roadblocks, senator sacked, climate costs

Australia correspondent Chris Niesche looks at a new report that's laid bare the costs to the country of an escalating climate crisis.  Right-wing indigenous senator Jacinta Price was sacked for claiming Labor brings in large numbers of Indian migrants because it votes for them - but new polling suggests the Liberals headaches aren't over. Australia and PNG have signed a landmark defence treaty, and Roblox has agreed to make changes to ensure children using its platform aren't preyed on by adults.

10:05 Kate Moodabe's decades-long fight for health equity

After starting her health career as a community pharmacist, Kate Moodabe has spent decades finding solutions for health inequities that ruin people's lives and cause preventable deaths. She has been recognised for her efforts with the Supreme Award at this year's Primary Healthcare prizegiving. As the General Manager of the South Auckland Primary Health Organisation, Total Healthcare, Kate Moodabe was behind an innovative solution to get help severely overweight people who had disengaged from the health system. She partnered with social and fitness advocate, Dave Letele's BBM Motivation to introduce point-of-care testing in gyms to boost health screening and support for people who would never ordinarily visit a GP. She is also a passionate advocate for cervical screening HPV self tests.

10:30 Severe weather forecast for South Island and lower North Island 

Heavy rain and gale-force winds are forecast to lash much of the country as we head into the weekend, with MetService issuing a raft of orange and yellow warnings and watches. MetService is forecasting severe gale northwesterlies gusting 130 kilometres-per-hour in exposed places in the Canterbury High Country. There are also orange heavy rain warnings for Fiordland north of Doubtful Sound, the headwaters of the Otago lakes and rivers, the Westland ranges and the headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers south of Lake Marion. Many other parts of the South Island are under strong wind and heavy rain watches. Lewis Ferris is a MetService meteorologist.

10:35 Book review: Bird of the Year by Forest and Bird

Gyles Beckford reviews Bird of the Year by Forest and Bird, published by Penguin Random House NZ.

10:45 Around the motu: James Pocock in Gisborne

11:05 Music with Kirsten Zemke: Pop & harmonica

Music commentator Kirsten Zemke looks at the popularity of the harmonica in modern music. The instrument evolved from the ancient Chinese sheng and the modern version we know now developed in Germany in the 1820s. The "free reed" wind instrument is used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, country and rock. Kirsten plays some extremely well-known songs that feature the harmonica.

Kirsten Zemke is an ethnomusicologist at the University of Auckland's School of Social Sciences.

11:20 How immigration has evolved in Aotearoa New Zealand over the last forty years

Immigration is often a hot-button issue, but it's particularly so in some Western nations right now - with raids and deportations of migrants in the US and anti-migrant protests in the UK and Australia. So it has been in New Zealand at various points in the past 40 years: Dawn Raids of Pacific overstayers continued into the early 1980s, and there was a backlash against a rise in migration from Asia in the 90s. A new book details New Zealand's immigration policies between 1980 to 2020 - right before the pandemic shut our borders completely. Edges of Empire looks at how the country went from a largely Pakeha population at the beginning of the 80s to today's megadiversity. The social scientists and authors, Francis Collins, Alan Gamlen, Neil Vallelly spoke at length to fifteen former Immigration Ministers as part of their research.

11:45 Can AI help with your personal finance?

Money expert Lisa Dudson joins Kathryn to look at how AI tools can help with personal finance. She says they can act like a financial assistant, helping us budget, plan for the future and learn about money. But she says we need to be clear about where the limits are.

 Lisa Dudson is the owner of Acumen.co.nz. Her advice is of a general nature