Nine To Noon for Thursday 11 September 2025

09:05 IRD responds to concerns its student loan crackdown 'heavy-handed'

The tax department has ramped up efforts to crack down overseas student loan debtors - with more than a billion dollars owed by people that IRD has no contact information for. In a briefing to the Minister for Revenue earlier this year Inland Revenue confirmed it was trialing using an external provider to use "advanced data mining techniques" to locate defaulters. It also said it was focused on those who own property here or have New Zealand based investments, the top 250 UK and Australia based debtors, those who have been back to New Zealand three or more times in the last year and those who have defaulted on their instalment arrangements. One arrest at the border of a defaulter has been made this year, and 89 others have been told that they may be arrested at the border. Jake Lilley who is Senior Policy Advisor at Fincap - which represents financial mentors and budgeting services - told Nine to Noon yesterday that the contracting of an outside agency was a worrying development and Dave Ananth - a tax barrister with the law firm Stace Hammond and a former prosecutor with the IRD - also told us he was concerned over the increasing heavy-handedness of some of the tactics IRD was beginning to deploy. IRD Customer Segment leader is Jane Elley. 

09:20 Good sh*t : the fecal transfer that could change obesity treatment

Researchers at the Liggins Institute at Auckland University believe a capsule of healthy gut bugs could change the future of obesity treatment. Eight years ago, 87 obese adolescents took part in a groundbreaking study to see whether fecal transfer would make a difference to their health and weight.  The idea is taking 'good' gut bacteria from healthy donors and transferring them in capsule form to people with a less healthy microbiome. Four years later, a follow-up study, just published, suggests some significant health benefits from that single gut bugs transfer. Kathryn speaks with co-leader of the study, Professor Wayne Cutfield, Liggins Institute paediatric endocrinologist.

09:30 New dry slope a "game changer" for snow sports athletes

The Winter Olympics are just months away in Italy,  and New Zealand snow sports athletes are hoping a new 2.3 million dollar dry slope in the Cardrona Valley will be a game changer for some. The slope at the bottom of the Cardrona mountain road allows athletes to practice and perfect tricks: jumps, flips, spins and grabs all year round. It's soon to be in operation, more than three years after the idea was first mooted. A steep green mat built from thousands of interlocking tiles designed to let skis and snowboards carve in and grip - the slope will give athletes the traction they need to launch into jumps, with a safe landing. Kathryn speaks with the Chief Executive of Snow Sports New Zealand, Nic Cavanagh.

09:45 UK: Labour deputy race, UK envoy's Epstein links, Harry meets Charles

UK correspondent Natasha Clark joins Kathryn to talk about the race to replace Labour deputy Angela Raynor, revelations about Peter Mandelson's links to Epstein, Prince Harry meeting King Charles for the first time in over a year and Banksy's been scrubbed from a London court building.

Natasha Clark is political editor for LBC London

10:05 What drew freelance freedom fighters to Ukraine's frontlines

What draws someone to fight for a country that's not their own, unsanctioned by their government...sometimes, never having held a gun before? It's something veteran British journalist and author Colin Freeman wanted to know, having met a number of foreign legion soldiers who were drawn to the fight in Ukraine. Some 20,000 heeded a call from Ukraine's President Volodymr Zelensky in February 2022 to help defend his country - and Europe - from what he dubbed "Russian war criminals". This foreign legion included a rag-tag mix of former soldiers, idealists, thrill seekers and even former criminals... They came from all around the world, including New Zealand. Four Kiwis have not made it back: Fighters Dominic Abelen, Kane Te Tai and Shan-Le Kearns, as well as aid worker Andrew Bagshaw have been killed in the conflict. So what made them want to risk their lives to go to Ukraine? What were their experiences once there?  Colin has detailed the accounts of mainly British fighters in his new book 'The Mad and the Brave: The Untold Story of Ukraine's Foreign Legion'.

10:35 Book review : Olveston: Portrait of a Home by Jane Ussher and John Walsh

Leah McFall reviews Olveston: Portrait of a Home by Jane Ussher and John Walsh

10:45 Around the motu: Ché​ Baker in Southland

Ché talks to Kathryn about funding for Southland's space company, a row over taking gemstones from a local beach and a petition to re-extend the whitebaiting season in Southland

Ché Baker is the editor of the Southland Times.

11:05 Tech: Doctors and AI, humans cleaning up AI slop, wifi heartrates

Tech correspondent Mark Pesce joins Kathryn to look at a new study into what happened when radiologists came to rely on AI to interpret endoscopy results and the implications it has more widely for the augmentation of medical systems with AI. Meanwhile, more humans are being hired to clean up AI slop and can wifi be used to measure heart rate?

Mark Pesce is a futurist, writer, educator and broadcaster

11:15 Cathedral reopening touted

The Christ Church Cathedral could be reopened in five years under a new, cheaper restoration plan, halving a massive funding shortfall. A proposal just announced would be about $40m cheaper and involves doing the work in stages. The cost of restoring the quake-damaged building had blown out to $219m, leaving a shortfall of about $85m. The rebuild was paused indefinitely last year. RNZ's Christchurch reporter, Keiller McDuff has been at the announcement.

11:25 Parenting: Why cooking and baking with children is a good idea

Cooking and baking with children is a great idea - even if its makes a helluva mess, according to early childhood education research specialist Dr Vicki Hargraves. She's an early childhood teacher and mother, and ECE research specialist at The Education Hub, an organization that supports teachers with knowledge about best practice. She says spending time in the kitchen with your children is a great way to support their learning - from shapes, colours, comprehension, sequencing and creativity. And if you do a good job, you'll end up with kids who can share the cooking load in the household.

11:45 Screentime: The Paper, Highest 2 Lowest, Subject

Film and television reviewer Tamar Munch joins Kathryn to talk about American mockumentary The Paper (TVNZ+), which follows in the tradition of The Office. Highest 2 Lowest (Apple +)is a crime thriller directed by Spike Lee and starring Denzel Washington. And Subject (DocPlay) is a documentary about the subjects of documentaries - and the ethics and responsibilities inherent in the genre.