Nine To Noon

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton joins Kathryn to look at calls for a royal commission into how the only producer of gold in Australia sold diluted gold to China and allowed a prominent gang member to by $27,000 worth of bullion without background checks. Perth Mint is owned by Western Australia and the situation gold bars could leave taxpayers with a $9b buy-back on their hands. Official interest rates were raised for the 10th consecutive time yesterday, PM Anthony Albanese heads to India today on an official state visit and Virgin Australia will become the first airline in Australia to dispatch a flight on which every job in the air and on the ground will be performed by a woman.

A new online menstrual health resource is being launched today to address the gap in adolescents' knowledge about menstruation and common conditions like endometriosis. More than 27 percent of young women miss school each month due to severe period pain, and more than 70 percent of under 24 year olds have bad periods. Endometriosis affects one in nine women and girls, but most experience lengthy delays, an average of 8.7 years, to get a diagnosis. The online platform called What About Me? has been developed by Deborah Bush, who founded Endometriosis New Zealand. It builds on a menstrual health and endometriosis programme which ran in schools from 1998 to 2019, and was a world first at the time. Deborah Bush is the director of What About Me? and has spent the last two years focused on getting her resource to reach a wider audience, by going online.

Hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric cars are not nearly as fuel efficient as their manufacturers claims, according to a new trial by Consumer NZ. The trial found, when measured at the pump, PHEVs used on average 73% more fuel than the manufacturers' claims, while hybrids averaged 20% more fuel use. The trial was commissioned by the Ministry of Transport to assess the fuel use of five brands' PHEVs and hybrids to see how normal use compared with manufacturers' claims. Kathryn speaks with Consumer NZ test team leader, James le Page.

Yesterday was the official Census day - but how many of us will actually have been counted? Just two million census forms had been received by Stats NZ by 9.30 last night. The 2018 Census had the lowest response in 50 years and prompted an independent inquiry into whether too much reliance was placed on people filling it in online. This year's census has had its own challenge in the form of Cyclone Gabrielle, with affected areas given an extension of up to eight weeks. Kathryn speaks with Simon Mason, Deputy Government Statistician and Census and Collection Operations deputy chief executive. Also Professor Tahu Kukutai from Te Ngira: Institute for Population Research at the University of Waikato.

Joe talks sport with Kathryn including, Super Rugby - weekend that was, how Super Rugby Aupiki is shaping up, the NRL is underway and the Warriors win their first game, the Black Caps remarkable efforts in second test against England fade as Sri Lanka series approaches and Liverpool's massive victory over Manchester United. RNZ Sports reporter, Joe Porter.

Do you feel stressed by the number of emails in your inbox? If your phone pings, do you feel the need to check it straight away? Do you tweet in the toilet? For many of us, the feeling of being overwhelmed by the amount of information, messages and requests that come at us every day from our devices will be very familiar. Dr Kristy Goodwin is an Australian researcher and author who's looked at how we can break the cycle of our over-reliance on screens. Her new book is 'Dear Digital, We need to talk: A guilt-free guide to taming your tech habits and thriving in a digital world'. She says no, you don't need to cancel Netflix or delete Slack off your phone.

Gyles discusses calls for a banking inquiry here, plus the recent earnings season.

As Tairawhiti deals with the many aspects of cyclone recovery it's emerged that a Gisborne District Council owned forest at Waingake was a factor in cutting off the region's water supply. Forestry waste damaged the city's main pipeline. Meanwhile, the city remains in a water crisis, industry is slowly being brought back on, and residents are still being asked to conserve water. Matthew touches on some of the local stories which illustrate the depth and breath of Cyclone Gabrielle's ongoing impact, including Ben and Sarah Aperahama losing everything. Matthew Rosenberg, is a local democracy reporter based out of the Gisborne Herald's newsroom.

Emma Hislop reviews Golden Days by Caroline Barron, published by Affirm Press

When Amber Clyde started skateboarding as a 10 year old in Birkenhead, she was the only girl at the skate park. She struggled with confidence, was shy and scared to get involved, and with no classes available to learn how to skate, she quickly drifted away. Amber picked up skateboarding again at age 20 after the birth of her first daughter, and this time she wanted to take her love for skateboarding to a new level, so she started teaching young girls. She started running weekend classes for a gold coin donation, and they became so popular she expanded. Amber and her coaches at Girlskate, now teach hundreds of girls each week, runs workshops in schools and has funding from Auckland Council and Sport NZ. She's the subject of a new documentary released today - called Back on the Board.