Nine To Noon for Tuesday 9 December 2025

09:05 Govt to take over what councils charge developers

A developer is backing the government taking control of what how much they have to pay for local infrastructure after a previous tussle with Auckland Council. Local Government Minister Simon Watts has announced plans for a new development levies system aimed at improving how infrastructure is funded and financed. Councils will continue to calculate and administer the levy for their region, district or cities - but will be subject to Commerce Commission regulation. Auckland Council earlier this year proposed large increases for development contributions - in one suburb proposing as much as $120,000, up from the previous $31,000 per house. They eventually settled on $70,000 after pushback from developers. One of those is Kirsty Merriman, who spoke to Kathryn about her hopes central government will do a better job of calculating the contributions. Kathryn also spoke to Auckland Council's chief financial officer Ross Tucker.  

09:20 Assistant principal calls for change to teacher pay scale 

A teacher of 23 years says it's unfair those who trained prior to the 2000s are now unable to reach the highest pay level unless they undergo extra training, and it's leading to those with fewer years' experience being able to earn more than their older colleagues. Teachers with a 3-year Bachelor of Teaching enter at Step 1 and can reach step 10 of the base salary scale. Those with a 4-year Bachelor of Teaching degree or a specialist subject degree such as maths or literature plus a teaching qualification can reach step 11. The standard qualification for primary teaching pre-2000s was a three year teaching qualification, generally done through teachers colleges. However this has shifted to university-based qualifications and over time, and more people now do four year qualifications, with a three year specialist degree and one year teaching qualification very common. Jacinta Kelleher is a teacher and Assistant Principal at Titahi Bay School in Porirua. She has started a petition asking the Ministry of Education to rectify the discrepancy. 

09:35 Kiwi entrepreneur tackling AI robotics programming

A Kiwi entrepreneur is working to tackle a major bottleneck in robotics - testing artificial intelligence in the physical world. Former Tesla engineer and Stanford University graduate Harry Mellsop has built a software programme called Antioch that lets companies building robots test them in real world scenarios. Barring a few multinational companies like Meta and Tesla that have their own technology to run simulations - most manufacturers modelling new robotics need to hire out real world places to test technologies. This might look like company testing its automatic tractor - and needing a real paddock to dig around in, or in many cases robot builders are hiring Air BnBs and actors to test their products. He and fellow co-founders have just closed a pre-seed funding round led by Icehouse Ventures, with more than $7 million raised. 

09:45 USA correspondent David Smith 

President Trump is facing bipartisan outrage after video showed U.S. military “double-tap” strikes killing unarmed survivors in alleged cartel boats, raising questions about possible war crimes. At the same time, his administration’s 2025 National Security Strategy signals a decisive shift toward an inward-looking “America First” doctrine. Amid falling approval ratings and voter frustration over living costs, Trump is campaigning in Pennsylvania and using high-profile cultural events like the Kennedy Center Honors.

David Smith is Washington bureau chief at The Guardian

10:05 100 years of the Auckland Tramping Club

It has been 100 years since the Auckland Tramping Club was founded - possibly the only club ever formed in the crater of a volcano. Auckland Tramping Club has a new book out celebrating its centenary. It's packed with tales from the huts, trails and picnic spots discovered by the club since 1925. Dennis Brown and Ian Roberts discuss 100 years with Boots and Pack - Tales, trips and happenings of the Auckland Tramping Club 1925-2025.

10:35 Book review: The Way to Spell Love by Nina Nola

Gail Pittaway reviews The Way to Spell Love by Nina Nola, published by The Cuba Press.

10:45 Around the motu: Tess Brunton in Dunedin

Tess reports on Woolworths in Dunedin South pleading guilty over a rat infestation, Dunedin Council agrees to a housing outreach service and super snowmakers on the way for Coronet Peak,

11:05 Business commentator Calida Stuart-Menteath

Prefab home builder Nook goes under as there continues to be trouble at the Financial Markets Authority - with chair Craig Stobo now being investigated by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Calida also discusses the latest in the Du Val case as investors are likely to be left $63.8 million out of pocket. 

11:30 The real-life story of a fraudster and bigamist condemned to the gallows in colonial NZ

In 1896 a double murder of an elderly shopkeeping couple in Petone rocked colonial New Zealand. They'd been stabbed - and the person who raised the alarm was a man called Stephen Bosher - a market gardener who'd called on them for supplies. But that wasn't the only name he went by. He was actually a French immigrant called Etienne Jean Brocher who would eventually come to police attention through his colourful past - including jail time for various crimes and being found out as a bigamist. He was convicted and hanged in 1897 for their murders.  But what was the evidence against him? Was he a victim of colonial prejudices and suspicions of the time? His case has been meticulously researched by Brian Stoddart, an academic and former Vice Chancellor of Melbourne's La Trobe University. His book is Outcast: The Extraordinary Life and Death of Etienne Jean Brocher.

11:45 Sports correspondent Marc Hinton

There's been world cup draws in rugby and football, and in cricket New Zealand and England fail to deliver in their respective test matches. Has Liam Lawson's F1 season been a success or a failure? And Marc discusses the recent exploits of skier Alice Robinson and runner Sam Ruthe.