Nine To Noon for Tuesday 28 October 2025

09:05 ACC stops payments to record numbers of long-term clients  

ACC is telling long-term injured clients around the country that they are "work ready" and giving them four weeks notice that their payments will stop. In the last year nearly 8 thousand long-term injured clients have been deemed no longer in need of help and removed from the long term claims pool. That's a jump of 1400 on the year earlier. ACC is championing the record numbers, but some of the clients affected say they are not able to work and feel they are being dumped to save money. Jonathan Simcock received a letter from ACC last Monday advising him he is work ready and his payments would cease in 28 days. This is despite living with chronic pain, anxiety and depression after a bike accident that left him mostly paralysed in his dominant arm. Medical advice provided to ACC earlier this year said he was not work ready, and strongly advised against discharging him from his long-term claim. After enquiries by Nine to Noon last week ACC abruptly changed its mind on Mr Simcock's case, telling him on Friday he has been reinstated. ACC advocate Warren Forster says Jonathan Simcock's case is one of many - where injured claimaints are being dropped by ACC with no change in their circumstances. And he says any client seeking a review of a decision has to wait months for a hearing. Kathryn speaks with Jonathan Simcock and Warren Forster. ACC says the increase in long term cases being closed reflects its success in supporting clients to recover from their injuries so they can return to work.

09:20 Costly fender benders going unrepaired

Panel beaters say more people are opting to drive with damage from fender benders, because insurance claims are so expensive. Consumer NZ's annual car insurance survey released earlier this year found premiums have increased by as much as 46% since 2023. The Collision Repair Association says this is partly due to a lack of competition, and the big insurers directing work to their own repairers which also limits consumer choice. The New Zealand car and house insurance sector is dominated by two main Australian owned operators, IAG and Suncorp. Stewart Gibb General Manager of the Collision Repair Association, says an insurance excess of $500 to $1000 +  is unaffordable for many, who'll opt to drive around with a dent or scrape in their car. He says modern vehicles are also more costly to fix. Kathryn also speaks with Rebecca Styles, investigative team leader with Consumer NZ.

09:35 Trees continue to frustrate lines companies

Nearly 8,000 properties in Southland and Otago remain without power this weekend - and the local lines company is warning residents it could still be several days with the lights off. The severe weather last week and through the weekend downed trees, and power poles - throughout the country - but worst hit appears to be Southland and Otago. Powernet in Southland says some people will need to wait several days before the power comes back on. In April lines companies were given more powers to remove trees that are within 'fall zone' of the lines, and prevent plantings around power lines - but they don't take effect until 2027. Until then they can only prune trees back from lines. Electricity Networks Aotearoa chief executive, Tracey Kai, says until those risky trees can be removed, there will more and longer outages than there need to be following storms. 

09:45 USA correspondent David Smith 

US President Trump is at the Asean Summit in Malaysia and appears to have struck a deal with Chinese President XI Jinping for a US investment for TikTok. Meanwhile, President Trump says he will add a 10 per cent tariff on goods imported from Canada, over the province of Ontario used Ronald Reagan in an anti-tariff advertisement. There's criticism over a move to demolish the historic East Wing of the White House to build a ballroom. 

Washington bureau chief for The Guardian, David Smith. 

10:05 Sam the Trap Man on returning Aotearoa to its roots

New Zealand has had its fair share of iconic outdoorsmen - some real, some created, some a bit of both - but all genuine characters. The latest is Sam Gibson aka Sam the Trap Man who first came to prominence via his social media posts aimed at teaching the younger generation about bushlore and conservation. A hunter, fisherman and forager, Sam has since written a bestselling non-fiction book Sam the Trap Man: Cracking Yarns and Tall Tales from the Bush in which he describes being shot four times and is currently fronting a documentary on TVNZ+ called Think Like a Forest. Practicing the message he preaches, Sam explains to Kathryn why he wants all New Zealanders - as joint kaitiaki - to understand the full extent of nature's gifts and why we should both embrace and protect them.

10:35 Book review: Wreck by Catherine Newman

Elisabeth Easther reviews Wreck by Catherine Newman, published by Penguin Random House.

10:45 Around the motu: Tom Hunt with the  Wellington newspaper, The Post

Tom talks about who might be be selected as Andrew Little's deputy mayor, begging moves from the CBD to the suburbs and  the taxi firm kicked out of Wellington Airport.

Tom Hunt senior journalist with Wellington paper The Post

11:05 Political commentators Neale Jones and Brigitte Morten 

Neale and Brigitte discuss recent events in politics including Labour's tax policy.

11:25 The rising cost of living : breaking down the numbers

Stats NZ senior manager for prices and construction Nicola Growden talks with Kathryn about the cost of living, and how it is measured. Last week's consumer price index rose 1.0 percent in the three months ended September, pushing the annual rise to 3.0 percent from 2.7 percent, the highest since June last year. The biggest single contributor was an 11.3  per cent rise in electricity prices.

11:45 Sports-chat