Nine To Noon for Wednesday 23 July 2025

09:05 Half a billion taken out of Kiwisaver accounts for financial hardship

Nearly $500 million has been withdrawn due to financial hardship from Kiwisaver accounts for the year to June, but what is the long-term cost of these withdrawals? $470 million was taken out of Kiwisaver accounts by people struggling to get by, with the average withdrawal at $9,000 per withdrawal. The annual total withdrawal figure is up more than 50 per cent on the previous year's withdrawals, and when compared to the year to June 2020, it is up more than 240 per cent. Kiwisaver members can withdraw sums from their accounts to buy a first home, move overseas, have a serious illness or life-shortening condition, or for significant financial hardship. For withdrawals, members have to go through their provider and have evidence they are suffering significant financial hardship. But what can a withdrawal now mean for the final picture when someone comes to retire - how much could they be losing out on. The Retirement Commission's personal finance lead Tom Hartmann speaks to Kathryn. 

09:20 Population growth, infrastructure and bottlenecks - the challenges facing Auckland's next council

Auckland's predicted rapid growth, and all the implications that come with that, has been set out in a pre local government election report from the council's Chief  Executive, Phil Wilson. He says those standing for local government in Auckland need to have an honest assessment of how the council is functioning, it's financial health and the challenges looming for the region. Councillors will need to address the city's relatively low productivity and support a lifting   of the region's performance. Phil Wilson joins Kathryn to detail demands coming in the future as predictions indicate the city could swell by half a million in  30 years.

09:30 Dunedin schools open late due to frost

It is a frosty morning down south this morning and some Dunedin schools are opening late as a result. Otago Primary Principals' Association has asked all primary and intermediate schools and Dunedin kindergartens to open at 10 am. Kathryn chats with North East Valley Normal School Principal Rachelle Moors.

09:45 Australia: Parliament resumes, childcare regulation on table, EV boom

Australia correspondent Bernard Keane joins Kathryn to talk about Parliament resuming following the election, how childcare regulation will be high on the agenda following a shocking case of alleged abuse and the EV boom continues, with BYD overtaking Tesla - but is there are shortage of EV servicing options?

Bernard Keane is political editor for Crikey.com.au

10:05 Checkmate: How chess can help children with autism

 This year marks the Year of Social Chess, as it's been designated by the International Chess Federation or FIDE. Evguenia Charomova is someone who's championing the cause - running programmes in her community for those who want to play and also teaching autistic children how to play the game. Evguenia was born in Russia, and ended up in New Zealand after her parents took her on a round-the-world sailing trip. She became an under-16 champ, later the New Zealand Women's Chess Champion. Although trained in bioengineering, she ended up teaching English in Russia, and later speech therapy upon her return to New Zealand. She's seen great results from her involvement in the international Infinite Chess programme, which she's taught to students at Auckland's Parkside School. It's inspired her to try to set up a chess competition for children with special needs. She joins Kathryn to talk about why chess can be beneficial for children with autism, as well as her own love for the game.

10:35 Book review: Untold Intimacies: A history of Sex Work in Aotearoa by Cheryl Ware

Cynthia Morahan reviews Untold Intimacies: A history of Sex Work in Aotearoa by Cheryl Ware, published by Auckland University Press.

10:45 Around the motu : Tess Brunton on Dunedin

Council to consider public response to consultation over flood risk in South Dunedin and DOC investigates the discovery of a dead stoat on supposedly stoat free Rakiura/Stewart Island.

Tess is an  RNZ reporter in Dunedin covering Otago and Southland

11:05 Music with Ian Chapman: Molluscs unhinged!

Today Ian Chapman explores the seldom visited intersections between popular music and molluscs. Mussels, cockles and oysters abound in a selection of music drawn from local and overseas artists that ranges from sad and serious to witty and outright silly. Listeners are invited to come out of their shells and enjoy some mollusc magic.

Ian Chapman is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Music at the University of Otago. 

11:20 Nelson photographer's 10-year Tūhoe project wins top award

A photograph is taken in an instant, but an award-winning long-term photography project can take ten years - as Tatsiana Chypsanava discovered. The Nelson-based photographer originally hails from Belarus and is a descendant of the Komi peoples of the Siberian North West Ural. She moved to New Zealand in 2008, and worked for Archives New Zealand - which is where she met representatives of Tūhoe, who were preparing for a settlement hearing. It led her to photograph the people living in Te Urewera, Tūhoe's ancestral land, on and off for a decade. That project, called Te Urewera - The Living Ancestor of Tūhoe People - netted her the Asia-Pacific and Oceania Long Term Projects Prize at this year's World Press Photo Awards. She joins Kathryn to talk about why she's drawn to telling the stories of indigenous people. The World Press Photo Exhibition is on in Auckland from 26 July - 24 August, and Wellington from 5 September - 5 October. 

11:45 Money: Why are people opting for higher-risk KiwiSaver funds?

Money correspondent Susan Edmunds joins Kathryn to discuss why the proportion of funds in the highest-risk category of KiwiSaver funds have quadrupled from 10 percent in 2021 to 40 percent in 2024.

Susan Edmunds is RNZ's Money Correspondent