Nine To Noon

09:05 What would road user charges for all cars look like? 

The government wants to move the entire vehicle fleet to paying road-user-charges  - but how would this work, and when will it happen? In its transport plan, out last month, the government confirmed it wants to shift from raising road transport funds, via excise taxes on fuel to a system where all vehicle owners pay the Transport Agency directly for the kilometres they travel. It is a system that diesel vehicles, and from this year, electric cars, already use. Almost three-quarters of the entire vehicle fleet - more than 3.5 million vehicles are paying fuel excise duty and not RUCs. However, there are challenges to upgrading the technology and concerns around the privacy implications of the data collected.  Mark Stockdale, principal technical advisor at the Motor Industry Association and Terry Collins, principal adviser in the transport policy and advocacy team at the Automobile Association, both join Kathryn for a discussion on the challenges to changing the RUC system.

09:25 Renewed push to build a 'run-of-river' hydro scheme in the West Coast 

A West Coast lines company is reigniting a bid to build a run-of-river hydro scheme in its region. Westpower says the Waitaha Hydro Scheme - with a capacity of 20 megawatts - would provide a valuable back-up to the West Coast's electricity network should a major transmission line go down. It is a return to a project that was declined Department of Conservation concessions in 2019. Opposition was led by the kayaking community, and included the likes of Forest and Bird and Federated Mountains Club, which said the project would have an irreversible impact on what is a rare kayaking run. The Waitaha run-of-river scheme would harness the energy from the flowing water in the river, rather than using water storage and a dam like traditional hydro schemes. Westpower's chief executive Peter Armstrong told Kathryn his organisation was seeking a fast-track consent, while Federated Mountains Club president Megan Dimozantos explained why her group still opposes the project.

09:45 Australia: Union scandal, Tenancious D cancels, MH17 anniversary marked

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton joins Kathryn to talk about the allegations levelled against the construction union, the CFMEU. Media reports revealed claims of standover behaviour, bribery and kickbacks and links to organised crime, leaving the federal government to consider appointing administrators. American comedy rock duo Tenacious D's tour of Australia and New Zealand has been called off  after a comment by one of the pair about Donald Trump's assassination attempt. 

10:05 How Khalida Popal uses football to fight for women's rights in Afghanistan    

Khalida Popal found a passion for football against an unlikely backdrop in Afghanistan, in the mid-'90s; a time where women were not seen to have a place in sport there. She eventually rallied a team and became co-founder and the first captain of the women's national football team, and head of finance at the country's Football Federation. But it came at a personal cost. In 2011, the then-24-year-old was forced to flee the country as threats - and actual violence - were levelled against her. Khalida Popal continued her advocacy from Denmark, and then as Taliban rule tightened again in 2021, Ms Popal rallied an international sporting community to help more than 500 people - female players and their families -  flee Afghanistan. Her memoir, My Beautiful Sisters, tells the story of how she used her growing prominence in football as a platform to fight for women's rights.

10:35 Book review: Practice by Rosalind Brown 

Hannah August reviews Practice by Rosalind Brown published by Orion Publishing

10:45 Around the motu: Kelly Makiha in Rotorua 

A bike trial is giving free e-bikes to those living in Kainga Ora homes. Kelly has been covering the case of a Mongrel Mob member jailed after carjacking and elderly couple and has details about the achievements of The Rotorua Trust, set up 30 years ago following power board privatisation and reforms.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist with the Rotorua Daily Post

11:05 Dave Wilson: Music about family

Music correspondent Dave Wilson joins Kathryn with some tracks that celebrate family connections, inspired by what some award-winners shared at the Aotearoa Music Awards earlier this year.

Dave Wilson is a saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, and interdisciplinary scholar, a Senior Lecturer in Music at the New Zealand School of Music-Te Kōkī.

11:20 Migration down, more NZers depart, fertility declines

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Paul Spoonley discusses where New Zealand's population is heading, as migration numbers track down, more and more Kiwis leave our shores, and fertility rates continue to decline.

11:45 Science: More extreme weather, 'fast fashion' fix, low speed safety

Science commentator Laurie Winkless joins Kathryn with three new studies: the first focuses on what climate change is set to do to New Zealand's weather patterns in the coming years. Researchers in the US have found a way to make it easier to separate out fibres in textile waste. Could it provide a solution to how to recycle the world's annual 92 million tons of textile waste? And a Greek study has assessed how effective 30 km/h speed limits have been in European cities. Spoiler alert: they've been effective, and even won over the public.

Laurie Winkless is a physicist and science writer