Nine To Noon for Monday 22 September 2025

09:05 Aerospace and aviation sectors want CAA to sharpen up

Drone companies say despite the Civil Aviation Authority's efforts to improve the timeliness of drone certifications, a massive increase in the number of applications means wait times are still too long. Currently it takes anywhere from 8-12 months to have an application approved. With companies reporting the equivalent process in Australia only takes about 6 weeks. The CAA says it prioritises amendments or renewals for operators already in the system, over  new applications. It also admits its resourcing has been focused elsewhere - with the upcoming ICAO audit, implementation of the new Civil Aviation Act and in-house organisation changes. Within the aviation sector also there are concerns - including the rising costs of compliance, skills shortages and a concern that the regulator has been overly punitive in the past. Simon Wallace is the chief executive at the Aviation Industry Association, Craig Simpson is managing director of Aerolab and president of the agricultural drone association and Kathryn Ryan speaks to Kane Patena the new chief executive at CAA.

09:20 Save as you spend: Feijoa founders 

A Wellington tech start up is aiming to help people boost their KiwiSaver contributions. Feijoa rounds up everyday purchases to the nearest $1, $2 or $5  - and puts the difference directly into the KiwiSaver account. So if an item costs $3.95, five cents would go directly into the nominated KiwiSaver account or accounts. Feijoa founders Ben Davin and Mark White-Robinson join Kathryn.

09:35 ER nurse's surprising side-hustle: Driving a 5-tonne monster truck 

Rebecca Schnell's regular job is as an emergency room nurse in St Louis, Missouri. But she has a side gig that's even more adrenaline-filled: strapping into a five-tonne Monster Truck and taking it for a spin and a car crush or two. Rebecca drives for Bigfoot - the team behind the original Monster Truck from the mid-70s - as does her husband Darron. She's in New Zealand as part of the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow-N-Fire, which kicked off in Dunedin this weekend before moving to Wellington and then Auckland. Rebecca's tour here is all the more remarkable, because just four months ago she was having brain surgery. She also lost her friend and mentor, Monster Truck legend Dan Runte, in a motorbike crash just a week before she headed to New Zealand. She speaks to Kathryn about how she got into driving big trucks.

09:45 Foreign correspondent Seamus Kearney

UK and several EU nations join others in recognising Palestinian state, NATO begins air defence mission over Poland using UK jets, European airports hit by cyber-attacks on check-in systems, and Macron and his wife sue far-right influencer over transgender claims.

10:05 The inside story of Patagonia's founder 

Legendary rock climber Yvon Chouinard - an outdoorsman who was so uninterested in material possessions he would sleep in the dirt - made billions as the founder of clothing apparel company Patagonia. And in September 2022 he stunned the corporate world by giving it all away. The careful creation of a so-called "purpose trust" which has to use the funds to advocate for environmental causes now holds the majority of Patagonia's shares, and Chouinard had rid himself of the title of "billionaire" which he hated with a passion. A minimalist with a love for extreme outdoor pursuits, Chouinard forged rock climbing equipment for himself and friends, and then unable to find suitable clothing for the harsh outdoor conditions, the apparel company Patagonia was born. But the tension between connecting with the outdoors and harming the environment would be a constant theme - and at times the hypocrisy of running a hugely successful and profitable clothing company, and calling himself an environmentalist was stark. David Gelles, a journalist  for the New York Times, has reported on Patagonia and Chouinard for years. He has published the story of Yvon Chouinard in the book Dirtbag Billionaire, and talks to Kathryn Ryan. 

10:35 Book review: Homework: A Memoir by Geoff Dyer

Jane Westaway reviews Homework: A Memoir by Geoff Dyer, published by Allen & Unwin.

10:45 Around the motu: Robin Martin

Robin canvasses the mayoral race, with the incumbent stepping down and Womad's decison to cancel next year's festival.

Robin Martin in RNZ's reporter in Taranaki 

11:05 Political commentators Liam Hehir and Dale Husband

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

Liam Hehir is a Palmerston North lawyer, political commentator and a National Party member.

11:30 Tamarillos on toast and in curry? The surprising ways to eat tree tomatoes

Kathryn meets Northland Tamarillo grower Aaron Davies, whose on the board of the Tamarillo Growers Association who shares some surprising new ways to eat the fruit.

11:45 Off the beaten track with Kennedy Warne

It's the spring equinox tomorrow, so not surprising that parts of the country are experiencing equinoctial gales at the moment. Kennedy joins Kathryn Ryan from the breezy tip of Musick Point, a finger of land jutting into the Hauraki Gulf in east Auckland. He discusses the news of last Friday when the High Seas Treaty became international law, following the ratification of 60 member states. And the report from Fisheries NZ detailing the extent of kelp forest loss along the north-east coast of New Zealand.