Nine To Noon

09:05 Stats NZ stands by decision to move away from traditional census

Stats NZ admits there is work to be done to ensure data collected under the modernised census plan is robust, but stands by the decision to move away from the full enumerated Census. Yesterday, Nine to Noon spoke with two population and data experts who warned the costs of getting administrative data up to scratch, building the infrastructure needed, and the potential costs of getting it wrong, could far outweigh the dollar cost of undertaking a traditional census. Stats NZ is currently consulting on how data for the new census should be collected. Its general manager for Statistical Delivery, Population & Housing, Sean Broughton, joins Kathryn.

09:25 Horowhenua Trust secures Social Investment Fund backing to help children

The Social Investment Agency has revealed the first organisations to be given backing from its $190 million fund. The agency was set up just over a year ago and it uses data and evidence to prioritise it's spending. The initial funding round focused on three groups - children with parents who are, or have recently been, in jail, children of parents who have been in care and children who have been stood down or suspended from school before age 13. The first round of  $50 million over four years is going to seven programmes, with the Social Investment Minister, Nicola Willis, saying the successful organisations showed they could make the best overall impact for the target groups, and were able to measure that success. One of those that has secured funding is the Horowhenua New Zealand Trust, which aims to help more than 400 children with a programme focussed on behavior change. Kathryn speaks to its chair,  Antony Young.

09:30 New wastewater standards explained

New Zealand has its first national wastewater standards - after Cabinet agreed to new rules that will come into force on December 19. Previously,  public wastewater plants needed to get consent from the relevant regional council, which decided based on its interpretation of the Resource Management Act. Now those councils will all have to make consent decisions using the national standards - and they cannot enforce a higher standard. Steve Carne, director of Taonga Water Advisory, explains how the new standards will work. 

09:45 UK: Rachel Reeves faces claims she 'mislead' over Budget, jury trials gone for some

UK correspondent Harriet Line looks at why Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been facing claims she mislead the public about the nation's finances in the lead up to the Budget last week. Jury trials are set to be scrapped for many crimes - what's behind the decision and what will it mean for the justice system? And junior doctors are set to walk off the job for a five day strike starting on December 17. 

Harriet Line is deputy political editor of The Daily Mail

10:05 Kite Runner to The Crown: Khalid Abdalla on his remarkable career as an actor and activist

He's known for his roles in movies including The Kite Runner, Green Zone and United 93 - as well as playing Dodi Fayed in Netflix series The Crown. But Khalid Abdalla is also an activist - and it's that side of his life he'll be letting Kiwi audiences see next year as part of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts. Khalid was born in Glasgow to Egyptian parents, who fled repression in that country and raised their son in London. After Cambridge he studied theatre in France, then the screen roles flooded in. But it was the Arab Spring in 2011 which helped inform Khalid's work Nowhere, that he'll perform here in March. Khalid spent time in Cairo's Tahrir Square at the height of the major protests. Earlier this year he was summoned for questioning by police over his part in a pro-Palestine protest. He joins Kathryn to explain how he balances acting and activism. Khalid Abdalla will be performing Nowhere at Wellington's Tāwhiri Warehouse from the 4th to the 7th of March. He'll also be in conversation with Tainui Seasons at Māoriland Film Hub on March 7.

10:30 Govt proposes shift in retirement village legislation

Under the government's long-awaited changes to the retirement villages legislation, residents and their families will be paid interest after six months of leaving a unit and will have to be fully repaid after 12 months. Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka has just announced the changes, saying the moves will give residents and their whānau greater confidence and strengthen protections for them. Among the changes are the stopping of weekly fees and deductions immediately when a resident leaves a unit and a process for former residents to apply for early access to funds in specific situations. The Retirement Village Association has criticised the proposals as a double financial hit on operators, saying they will have a chilling effect on the development of more units. Brian Peat is the spokesperson for the Retirement Village Residents Association. 

10:35 Book review: 50 Years of the Waitangi Tribunal edited by Carwyn Jones and Maria Bargh

Paul Diamond reviews 50 Years of the Waitangi Tribunal edited by Carwyn Jones and Maria Bargh, published by Huia Publishers.

10:45 Around the motu: Ché Baker on Southland 

Ché discusses the decision to pay $500,000 to remove large trees in Invercargill's central business district, Tiwai Point Aluminium smelter plans to build facility to process specific waste on site and the 60km mountain run starting this weekend from Te Anau.

11:05 AI agents: What are they and who's liable if things go wrong?

Tech commentator Alex Sims looks at computer programs that use artificial intelligence to pursue goals and tasks with minimal input, over time learning to plan and adapt what you need. She'll look at some examples of what they can be used for, and some realistic examples of where things could go wrong. What does the law say about who's liable if mistakes are made?

Alex Sims is a Professor in the Department of Commercial Law at the University of Auckland Business School and an expert on blockchain technology, copyright law and consumer law

11:25 Sibling rivalry: a normal part of growing up?

Is competition, jealousy, and conflict between brothers and sisters a normal part of growing up? While bickering and nitpicking can be hard for parents, can sibling rivalry also be a way for children to learn life skills? Kathryn talks with Clinical Psychologist and mum of three, Jacqui Maguire.

11:45 Screentime: Wake Up Dead Man (A Knives Out Mystery), After the Hunt, Nuremberg

Film and television reviewer Tom Augustine joins Kathryn to look at how the latest Knives Out mystery starring Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc compares to the first two. After the Hunt is a psychological thriller starring Julia Roberts as a college professor caught in a sexual abuse allegation between a student and a colleague. Nuremberg stars Russell Crowe as Hermann Goring and Rami Malek as the US psychiatrist who examined him ahead of the war crimes tribunal. And Tom also reviews Stranger Things 5.

Tom Augustine is a Tāmaki based filmmaker and critic.