Nine To Noon for Monday 28 July 2025

09:05 Small business advisers say anti anti-money laundering laws too onerous

Small business advisers say anti-money laundering laws put too much of the crime-fighting burden on the sector. The laws require any business providing financial or legal services to detect and deter illegal behaviour, through due diligence procedures, like identity verification, when taking on a new client. The Government recently relaxed identity verification requirements on banks, when someone is opening a bank account and is planning further changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism law.  Auckland based Aro Advisers Dave Saunders says AML requirements are adding cost and uncertainty to business. Kathryn also speaks with compliance adviser Uddhav Kirtikar.

09:25 Research questions if vape recycling stations skirt advertising rules 

New research from Auckland University suggests vape companies may be skirting advertising rules, that have been in place since 2020, with branding on vape recycling and phone charging stations. VapeCycle is a recycling initiative run by the vape company VAPO. VAPO has sponsored music festivals in the past, and is one of the many vape brands owned by VEC Limited. VapeCycle boxes - where people can dispose of their empty vapes, appeared, for example at 2024's  Rhythm and Vines, and Northern bass festivals - with VEC Limited product branding on the recycling boxes. Pictures of the vape boxes on Rhythm and Vines' website show them with pictures of bright vapes - however VAPO says at the festival itself, these were not the boxes used - but they had been used in other locations in the past. Lucy Hardie is a public health researcher at Auckland University and says the imagery, and branding, may be perceived as product promotion, which is prohibited.

09:40 Ministry of Transport U-turns on freight data study 

A crucial study into how freight is moved around the country has now been given the green light, despite the Ministry of Transport earlier this month saying it would not be going ahead. The National Freight Demand Study was last undertaken in 2018 , and 2014 and 2008 before that, and captures total freight volume and movements across the country, including which goods are moved, and how. It uses publicly available data, as well as industry-provided data such as EROAD GPS in heavy vehicles. There had been indications the study would go ahead - with the Ministry recently spending $164,000 to get advice on what the new iteration of the study would involve , including making greater use of telemetry and GPS data. In an article from BusinessDesk on July 7 however confirmed the study had been dropped due to "operating in a constrained fiscal environment".  Nine to Noon sought to clarify the status of the study - and received a surprise response from the Transport Minister Chris Bishop that he was "actively exploring options to commission an update to the Freight Demand Study". Justin Tighe-Umbers is chief executive of National Road Carriers. 

09:45 Foreign correspondent Thomas Sparrow in Germany 

Trump tells Europe to get its 'act together' on immigration, Germany, UK, France say Gaza humanitarian crisis must end, and Germany moves to fast-track weapons purchases. 

10:05 The professionals hired to end infidelity in China

Cheating spouses are a universal phenomenon - but a method of dealing with it in China is rather unique. Hong Kong-based filmmaker Elizabeth Lo's new documentary looks at the role hired professionals have in ending infidelity. The film is called Mistress Dispeller, and it follows Mr and Mrs Li - a couple living in the ancient city of Luoyang - who are going through a rough patch in their marriage, thanks to the introduction of a young woman with whom Mr Li is having an affair. In desperation Mrs Li turns to Teacher Wang, who enters the lives of the trio with the aim of gently persuading mistress Fei Fei to leave. It's an incredibly intimate look into the unwelcome menage a trois and in parts, it's easy to forget it's a documentary. It's also a long way from Elizabeth Lo's earlier award-winning film Stray, which followed three stray dogs on the streets of Istanbul. Mistress Dispeller screens around the country as part of the New Zealand International Film Festival - which opens first in Auckland from July 31. 

10:35 Book review: An Uncommon Land by Catherine Knight

Harry Broad reviews An Uncommon Land by Catherine Knight, published by Totara Press

10:45 Around the motu: Tim  Brown RNZ Christchurch reporter

Tim discusses Christchurch Hospital asking relatives to help take care of patients due to short staffing, the Jaz brothers are appealing their rape convictions and Christchurch's mayor is backing government calls over capping rates.

11:05 Political commentators Dale Husband and Ben Thomas

Dale Husband is a long time broadcaster and Radio Waatea presenter hosting a Māori focused current affairs programme.

Ben Thomas is a former National government press secretary, a columnist and a director of public affairs firm Capital.

11:30 The Southland veggie grower using lasers to rid his produce of weeds

The family behind Southland organic vegetable growing business So Sweet have been farming for five generations. So Sweet, formerly Southern Cross Produce, grows and supplies root vegetables, like sweet parsnips and carrots, which managing director Matthew Malcolm says thrive in the Southern climate with cool air, long sunlight hours, and rich soils The firm recently adopted laser weeding technology to rid their fields of weeds, without using environmentally damaging herbicides. So Sweet managing director Matthew Malcolm speaks to Kathryn.

11:45 Off the beaten track with Kennedy Warne

Kennedy joins Nine to Noon from the windswept Northland coast. He's been exploring the Whananaki Track, which runs between Whananaki (a coastal settlement opposite the Poor Knights Islands) and Sandy Bay, part of the Tutukaka Coast.