Midday Report

On today's episode, the Wairoa community is getting another $500,000 in government funding to help it recover from last week's devastating flooding. The Government has announced new standardised testing for students from the first year of school. An education expert says the potential use of artificial intelligence for tutoring has benefits, but will also pose challenges for developing students' critical thinking and social skills. Employees have been reminded to take care of what they write in private work emails or texts, after two Ministry of Justice workers landed in hot water for making derogatory comments about an academic on their workplace online chat system.

Employees have been reminded to take care of what they write in private work emails or texts, after two Ministry of Justice workers landed in hot water for making derogatory comments about an academic on their workplace online chat system. The comments on Microsoft Teams were able to requested by the person under the Official Information Act. So how private is your online or digital work chat? RNZ's money correspondent Susan Edmunds spoke to Charlotte Cook.

An education expert says the potential use of artificial intelligence for tutoring has benefits, but will also pose challenges for developing students' critical thinking and social skills. The Minister for Digitising Government Judith Collins says she wants to expand the use of AI, starting with the health and education sectors, including AI tutoring. Dr Michael Johnston, senior fellow at the New Zealand Initiative, has researched the role of AI in education. He spoke to Charlotte Cook.

Geo-political tensions will make trading conditions difficult for our exporters.

New Zealand diver Lizzie Roussel says she never thought her Olympic career was over when she had her daughter.

Southland are leading the way in the economic growth stakes.

The Government has announced new standardised testing for students from the first year of school. Education Minister Erica Stanford said from next year, five year olds will be tested on phonics - how well they can read words by sounding out letters - with tests at 20 weeks and 40 weeks of schooling. The government has also mandated twice-yearly "progression monitoring" for reading, writing and maths, for children in years three to eight. The Education Minister Erica Stanford spoke to Charlotte Cook.

The government is giving the Wairoa community another 500-thousand dollars to help it recover from last week's devastating flooding. The Wairoa river flooded more than 400 properties as heavy rain lashed the east coast last week, but the mayor thinks there is about 40-million dollars worth of damage. Emergency management minister Mark Mitchell announced the extra cash during a visit to the district today, which follows initial funding of 100-thousand dollars last week. Meanwhile Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says the government will lead an urgent review into how Hawke's Bay Regional Council managed the river. The Wairoa Mayor Craig Little spoke to Charlotte Cook.

On today's episode, the government is pressing ahead with legislation that will force tech giants to pay for the news content they use. General practice owners say telehealth consults are becoming increasingly common as a way to manage critical staffing shortages of nurses and GPs. A government crackdown on truancy and parents who take their children away from learning during school appears to be working. Get your scarves and jackets ready, the rest of the week is expected to be very chilly.

Get your scarves and jackets ready, the rest of the week is expected to be very chilly. Ski fields have had a generous dumping of snow, and a road snowfall warning is in place for the Desert Road. Heavy swell warnings are also in place, forcing the cancellation of all Interislander ferries until Thursday. For more on this, we're joined by Metservice meteorologist Lewis Ferris