Nine To Noon for Thursday 1 June 2017

09:05 'It's time to levy plastic bags' - local councils

Councils around the country want a levy on single-use plastic bags and are calling on the government to step up and impose one. They say the country's landfills are clogged with the non-biodegradable bags, which also blow away, into waterways damaging marine life. New Zealanders use more than 1.6 billion plastic bags every year. The government-backed soft plastic recycling scheme dealt with 25 million of those those bags last year - less than 2 percent of the total used. Kathryn talks to Vice President of Local Government NZ, Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull, Sandra Murray, coordinator of the anti-waste lobby group the Product Stewardship Council and Associate Minister for the Environment Scott Simpson.

09:20 Plants dial 111 too

We've all heard of talking to plants to make them grow - but what about when they talk to each other ?
Harsh Bais, who's a botanist at the University of Delaware, teamed up with high school student Connor Sweeney to make the discovery that a plant will warn its neighbours of impending danger when it has been injured itself.

09:45 UK correspondent Matt Dathan

Matt Dathan reports in on the narrowing of the polls between Labour and the Conservatives ahead of the UK election

10:05 How to fix prejudice

30 years ago Dr Trish Devine carried out a series of pioneering experiments which kickstarted the field of unconscious bias. Now she's working on a system which she believes is effective in "treating" prejudices people don't even know they have.

10:35 Book review

Dean Bedford reviews New Zealand's Prime Ministers: From Dick Seddon to John Key by Michael Bassett.

10:45 The Reading

11:05 New technology with Paul Matthews

Paul discusses battery-making gigafactories which are about to arrive in Europe and whether the tech industry got what it wanted from last week's budget.

11:25 Supporting transgender youth

Kathryn Ryan talks with LGBTI youth sector counsellor Tommy Hamilton about how to support teenagers who are questioning their gender identity.

Below are links and a variety of materials to encompass some of the ways parents can engage with the topic:

• Tommy Hamilton 0800 688 5463
• Support for NZ Parents of Transgender and Gender Diverse Children
• Transgender Children NZ (coming soon)
• RainbowYOUTH
• InsideOUT
• Growing Up Takatāpui
• Mario Mack (YouTube series)
• Families in Transition: A Resource Guide for Families of Transgender Youth
• Health Across the Gender Spectrum (course)

11:45 Viewing with Paul Casserley

TV and Film writer Paul Casserly discusses the return of Twin Peaks on Soho and Neon, and First Contact on Maori TV.