Nine To Noon for Wednesday 22 October 2025

09:05 Treasury boss issues grim warning on long term state of the books

Balancing the government's books is always difficult, but with an ageing population, fewer people of working age paying taxes, the growing costs of spending on public services and rising debt, Treasury has issued some grave warnings about the nation's long-term fiscal position. In a recent report, it says we hold nearly $35,000 in public debt for every New Zealander. And if no changes are made to borrowing, spending and taxing, by 2065 this will rise to $246,000 for every man, woman and child. Treasury has set out several options for the government on how to improve our long term position. Treasury Secretary Iain Rennie speaks to Kathryn.

09:20 The Hunterville locals who bought their local pub 

The historic Argyle in Hunterville has re-opened after two years, after a group of locals banded together to buy and renovate it. The Argyle has long been part of the fabric of the central North Island town. Established in 1885, it burned down twice. After the second fire, in 1947, it was rebuilt in its current Art Deco style. The idea to bring it back to life was sparked by local man Hamish Cavanagh - and it's safe to say locals were onboard. 78 people have invested. With the company governed by five shareholder-elected directors. The renovated Argyle Hunterville is now open, with a cafe, garden bar and eatery, as well as three retail spaces. There's also a campervan park out the back for out-of-towners who might want to stay awhile. Hamish Cavanagh is on the line from Hunterville.

09:30 Amid a charity funding squeeze, could payroll giving be the way to go?

Givealittle says more could - and should -  be done to capitalise on payroll giving to combat a drop in charitable donations. Three years ago New Zealand was ranked fifth on the World Giving Index - an annual report published by the Charities Aid Foundation. Last year the country dropped to 17th. Givealittle says charities are doing it tough right now as donations drop in tighter economic times. But it says Kiwis who are inclined to be generous could make better use of payroll giving, which was introduced by IRD in 2010 and remains an underutilised means of donating to a charity. To explain how it works and Givealittle's involvement in it, Kathryn is joined by its CEO Lythan Chapman. 

09:45 Australia: Trump's Rudd ribbing, China clash, Barnaby defection

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton looks at Anthony Albanese's long-awaited meeting with Donald Trump and the deal between the US and Australia to mine rare earth metals. It was nearly derailed by the presence of Kevin Rudd... Australia's protested dangerous behaviour by a Chinese jet fighter which released flares near a P-8 aircraft. And could one of Australia's highest profile and most colourful politicians Barnaby Joyce be about to defect to Pauline Hanson's One Nation?

Karen Middleton is a political journalist based in Canberra

10:05  Irish director Ross Whitaker on the gamblers who tried to game Lotto

How many of us have bought a Lotto ticket when there is a big prize at stake and quietly hoped - this might be the one. Well in Ireland, in the early 1990s, a mathematician thought he'd worked out a surefire way to win the National Lottery. He got together a syndicate to try to buy every single ticket combination in a scheme that captivated the nation and sparked vigorous debate. Now Irish director Ross Whitaker has turned the tale into a gripping thriller peppered with great archival footage. It features in the British and Irish film festival that kicks off in Auckland and Wellington at the end of the month and plays around the country until the middle of November. Ross Whitaker joins Kathryn from Dublin.

10:30 Food waste app with 'surprise bags' launches in NZ

A sustainable food app that started in Denmark a decade ago and is used in 19 countries has now been launched in New Zealand. Too Good to Go has over 100 million registered users, and helps food businesses avoid waste by selling discounted 'surprise bags' of unsold food at the end of the day. Customers who use the app can end up paying a third of the value of what's in the bag. At this stage the platform will only be operating in Auckland - the second Australasian city where it'll be available after it launched in Melbourne last August. To explain how it all works, Kathryn is joined by Joost Rietveld.

10:35 Book review : House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk 

Phil Vine reviews House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk, published by Text Publishing.

10:45 Around the motu: Southland Tribune editor Logan Savory in Invercargill 

Logan has the latest on the shape of the new council,  the impact of the weather, a solar farm gets the go ahead and Southland's entertainer of the year.

11:05 Music with Maggie Tweedie: New music from Aussie bands

Maggie Tweedie jumps the ditch and plays new tracks from Australian artists succeeding on the world stage. Featuring a new album from Perth’s Tame Impala-multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker’s globally recognised project that combines psychedelic rock and synth-pop; Melbourne’s Way-dreamy indie pop sound, the raw punk energy of Amyl and The Sniffers and a new single marking a fresh musical chapter for Courtney Barnett.

Maggie Tweedie is a broadcaster and music commentator based in Spain

11:20 Celebrating New Zealand's flowering plants    

When you think of books about sex - plants don't ordinarily spring to mind. But botanist, Philip Garnock-Jones has just published He Puāwai - A natural  History of  New Zealand Flowers that celebrates with spectacular photography, all the ways flower reproduce. 100 native species are featured with close-up, often microscopic images, that can also be seen as 3-D images if viewed through the special glasses that come with the book. Philip  - who was Head of Botany at Victoria University until 2009 - worked on the book for over 10 years. He joins Kathryn to pick his favourites.

11:45 Science: Who won the 2025 Nobel Prizes for science?

Hot on the heels of his examination of this year's IgNobel Awards, science commentator Allan Blackman takes a look at the awards that inspired them - the Nobel Prizes. He'll focus on the findings that clinched the chemistry, physics and medicine prizes this year.

Allan Blackman is a Professor of Chemistry, School of Science, Auckland University of Technology